Mr. Liske, you’ve been CEO of the CHIRON Group for a few weeks now. Why did you decide to come here? And how was the welcome?

Since I started in my role on March 1, I’ve had so many meetings and discussions with colleagues from all areas and I’ve been made to feel really welcome. My career has really been defined by two things. On the one hand, I have always been able to build on solid experience, but I’ve also sought out new challenges with each new position I’ve accepted. And that applies for my jump to the CHIRON Group, too. I have many years of experience in the global capital goods sector. But, I have a very demanding task ahead of me, taking on total responsibility as CEO, and in a new industry too. I’m really looking forward to incorporating my experience so far and learning lots about the specific markets, customers, technologies and products. Of course, the CHIRON Group is well known and, from my previous positions, I knew of the Group as one of the leading providers of machining centers and turnkey manufacturing solutions.

How exactly does your new position differ from your previous ones; are there any different priorities?

Previously, I was responsible for a business area, and now for an entire company Group – it’s a big learning curve. Surprisingly, I am actually rather familiar with many of the current challenges and questions the CHIRON Group is facing. There are certain topics that I was also dealing with in my previous role. For example, the specific situation in which the CHIRON Group finds itself now, post-merger, has given rise to new and different core tasks.

You haven’t just worked in Switzerland, but other countries too. What did you take away from these overseas stays?

Interesting question. Well, we went to China and came back with a son. But joking aside, the more time I spend immersed in different cultures, looking for differences, the more I realized one thing. The prerequisites for successful and fruitful (business) relationships are tolerance and mutual respect, wherever in the world you may be. We sell machines but »it’s a people business.«

How do you think the CHIRON Group is positioned currently? Which weak points could be tackled to keep us moving in a successful direction?

I am really impressed with the expert knowledge, as well as the commitment and loyalty of all the colleagues in the company. I find the exceptional focus on continued education and training particularly positive. It creates a strong sense of identity and defines the company culture.

The necessary restructuring program still needs to be completed in certain areas in my opinion. We need to establish and stabilize new processes. We also want to be able to really profit from the imminent market recovery with our reworked product portfolio and manage the ramp-up. A further point to work on in the near future is the springboards for the future further development of the CHIRON Group.

Do you have a motto, a guiding principle, which sums up your attitude?

I like to quote Winston Churchill, »The art is in getting up again, one more time than we are knocked down.«

You are clearly very busy as a Chief Executive Officer. How do you ensure a healthy work-life-balance? What do you do in your spare time to relax and recharge?

Fundamentally, I really like my work and enjoy working. I never really understood the term work-life-balance. Work is an important part of my life and I don’t need to balance it out with anything else. But if you’d like to know what my priorities are beyond the office walls? My family is my first, second, and every other priority.

We’re going full speed ahead with our preparations: We're putting the highlights of our CHIRON, STAMA, and FACTORY5 brands in the spotlight. Writing manuscripts, checking headsets and adding new, interesting content to our events platform, so everything is perfect for the OPEN HOUSE ONLINE 2021 of the CHIRON Group.

The events calendar for 2021 is jam packed with online events. But the OPEN HOUSE ONLINE offers something quite special: Just like the premiere last year, the 2021 event is not about searching, but about finding – whatever you need to make manufacturing processes fit for the future and to boost efficiency, availability, and productivity in everyday production work. And as ever, whether it's face-to-face or digital, the focus is on personal interaction.

Be it machining centers, digital systems and services, additive manufacturing, or projects for networked production: There'll be plenty to see, experience, discuss and take away. For instance, you'll be able to take a look behind the scenes in the new 360° tour. You can choose to either go on the tour yourself or to have an expert guide in the form of your personal CHIRON Group contact.

Another new feature, not to miss, are the Innovation Talks. Our experts are holding live sessions on news, updates and trends, and our partners will be presenting innovative solutions in collaboration with the CHIRON Group.It's worth stopping by more than once!

Interested in the highlights, event program, and how to register?

Then click here!

High-speed manufacturing with machining centers from the CHIRON Group, Renishaw technology for machine calibration and optimization, process control, and automation: Visitors to the event could experience live the perfect fit between the portfolios of two leading providers in their field – at the first RENISHAW & CHIRON DAYS hosted by the Hungarian branch of Renishaw in Budaörs, near Budapest. The three-day event was organized by Attila Gál and Dénes Papp, Managing Director of ROLATAST Kft., a sales and service partner of the CHIRON Group. According to Dénes Papp, the Hungarian units have worked »together successfully for many years, and digital measurement systems from Renishaw are used in around 90 percent of the machines we offer.«

Renishaw, a leading provider of high precision metrology and healthcare technology based near Bristol in the UK, presented different calibration products. In live demonstrations, visitors could see how sensors perform workpiece and tool measurements as well as tool breakage monitoring. In addition, Renishaw showcased an EQUATOR 300 gage for high precision measurements during the production process, and a REVO 5-axis measurement system. It allows a full workpiece inspection to be carried out – including a surface finish analysis – with measurement precision down to the micrometer.

Two sides of one machine: Something new out of something old
One exhibit shown by CHIRON Group was a retrofitted machining center, the CHIRON FZ 12 W. It looked as though it had been cut in half and put back together again. »We wanted to show the impressive effect of a retrofit by our specialists at CMS – both visually and in terms of the productivity and future viability of a machining center. So we left the right-hand side in its original state and completely refurbished the left side,« says Zsolt Richter, Technical and Sales Support Manager at ROLATAST.

Special feature of the »new« FZ 12 W: The original Siemens SINUMERIK 810 controller was retained and the latest model, the SINUMERIK 840D sl, was added to it. This measure alone reduced the cycle time by 20 to 25 percent.

Another exhibit at the three-day event was a CHIRON FZ 15 S five axis with multiple clamping on the fifth axis, which enables incredible precision while maximizing productivity. The Renishaw RMP 600 RENGAGE high-accuracy probe was used for support.

In addition, customers could visit the CHIRON Group virtual showroom to find out about the different brands of machining centers and areas of expertise in the various fields of application. With just a few clicks, they could find »their« system, inspect it closely using 3D models and animations, and view examples of it in use.

Zurich, Biel, Geneva, La Chaux-de-Fonds: The micro on tour will be stopping in these cities, where the truck will be transformed into a two-story showroom with video and product presentations, offering space for presentations on innovative solutions and face-to-face meetings. Seven partners are on board in addition to the CHIRON and FACTORY5 brands. The companies all interact perfectly right along the precision manufacture process chain, just like the components of a Swiss clock.

Want to find out more?

Click here for the German and French registration pages for micro on tour.

Formnext, METAV, Intec/Z: Digital versions still highly successful
Event organizers in Frankfurt and Leipzig opted for digital formats, which were very well received: In November 2020, around 9,000 participants from over 100 countries joined Formnext Connect, learning all about additive manufacturing, the next generation of industrial production. Examples of new products included the 3D printer AM Cube and, in an exclusive preview, the latest additive manufacturing project at the CHIRON Group: AM Coating, an innovative solution for coating brake disks.

The Leipzig trade fair duo Intec/Z also took place in a purely virtual format on March 2 and 3, 2021. More than 2,000 registered visitors took the opportunity to learn about new developments in the metalworking and supply industry at Intec/Z connect. The participants spent four hours on average on the platform, watched keynote speeches in the »Trends in Manufacturing Technology and the Supply Industry« or »Additive + Hybrid – Manufacturing in Transition« forums, and gained interactive insights into current trends through more than 100 exhibitor presentations. Frank Scheibe and Marcus Hansberg from the CHIRON Group sales force were on hand live from Leipzig and were pleasantly surprised: »The response was fantastic; we were in chats and video conferences almost non-stop, and the quality of contacts was excellent too«, enthuses Frank Scheibe, Technical Sales/Field Service at the CHIRON Group.

»Networking three in one« was the slogan of METAV digital 2021, which took place from March 23 to 26, 2021. With a virtual exhibition, matchmaking, and web sessions, the online trade fair was »very well attended and accessible from anywhere in the world 24/7,« explains Stephanie Simon, VDW Project Officer in charge of METAV digital. As with a live event, the visitors could navigate through two halls and stop to have a closer look at, for example, the CHIRON Group booth, where the CHIRON DZ 25 P five axis double-spindle machining center for processing large, complex workpieces was on show, among other exhibits.

Livestream from Tuttlingen: 11th Colloquium on Medical Devices
COVID-19 has highlighted the crucial importance of medical engineering, and how essential it is to ensure products are manufactured under consistently optimum conditions, using highly secure, reproducible processes. Just as important is the perfect harmonization of metal cutting technologies and tools, so that extremely hard materials can be machined precisely and productively. What form does this harmonization take? That was one of the questions discussed in presentations and podium discussions at the 11th Colloquium on Medical Devices of the mav. The topic introduced by Samuel Vuadens, Managing Director of CHIRON Swiss and the FACTORY5 brand, was »High-Speed Machining of Medical Microtechnology Parts using the Micro5 Smartmachine.« Andreas Jenter, VHM Milling Tool Product Manager at Horn, discussed optimized milling processes with standard and special milling tools in his keynote speech. Ralph Hufschmied, Managing Director of Hufschmied, spoke about high-efficiency machining of complex materials. The live-streamed event closed with a virtual visit to the CHIRON Group's Medical & Precision Technology Center.

You can catch up on recordings of the podium discussions and presentations at:

https://mav.industrie.de/medizintechnisches-kolloquium-2020/

International Sales & Service Meeting (ISSM)
Usually, sales staff from all over the world come to Tuttlingen, Germany, for a few days every spring to find out all about new products, discuss their markets and the current challenges, and to gain inspiration for success at their sites from presentations. This year, the ISSM was broadcast live from the studio in Tuttlingen in two sessions per day, and was simultaneously interpreted into numerous languages. Interactive presentations, Q&A sessions, and a virtual get-together in the coffee bar – with stickers sent out in advance for the very varied cups – allowed the participants to almost forget that they could only see each other and discuss matters on screen.

Click here for details of upcoming exhibitions and events: 

https://chiron-group.com/chiron-group/exhibitions-and-events