Engineering Technology Group (EGT)is to offer Taiwan's Feeler brand machine tools in a bid to fill the gap between what it describes as low specification, low duty budget machines and the high specification Chiron and Handtmann machine tools already offered by the Group.

Manufactured by the Fair Friend Group, the Feeler range includes drill-tap centres, light, medium and heavy duty vertical machining centres, horizontal machining centres, 5-axis vertical machining centres and long bed milling machines.

The Taiwan-headquartered Group is already the largest machine tool manufacturer in Greater China and has an annual production of 8,000 machines - 5,000 of these are vertical machining centres, making it the second biggest VMC manufacturer in the world.

And with 2,000 graduates – 30% of its workforce – devoted to research and product development, it is suggested that it is likely to become the world's biggest machine tool manufacturer within the next 10 years. It already counts blue-chip customers such as Airbus, Boeing, NASA, Toyota, BMW, Ferrari, GM, VW, Siemens and Caterpillar amongst its customer list.

The Feeler machines are available from EGT as standalone units or as part of a fully engineered, production-ready turnkey system with comprehensive performance and aftercare support.

EGT chairman Paul Rhodes said: "Whereas in the past the benefits of turnkey systems have been the preserve of larger OEMs and specialist manufacturers, they are now available to small and medium-sized manufacturers and subcontractors.

"Compared to other leading brands of mid-range Japanese and German manufacturers, a 5-axis machining centre from Feeler will give equivalent performance and quality for around 60% of the cost. We are sure that Feeler machines will appeal to customers all the way from small subcontract engineering companies up to Tier One automotive and aerospace suppliers.

"With Feeler, we can offer the market a full range from an entry-level machine all the way up to twin-pallet vertical machines, twin-pallet horizontal machines and 5-axis machines for billet work.

"Across the complete range, Feeler offers a very good specification that can achieve the quality, cycle times and reliability that are fit for purpose to achieve aerospace and automotive standards."