From 10th to 13th December 2014, around 2700 people from no less than 1300 manufacturing companies attended the latest HaasTec open house event in Manesar, the industrial district of Gurgaon, India. Also attended by many industry and local dignitaries, chief guest at the HaasTec was Mr PK Salhotra, Managing Director of Roop Automotive based in nearby Sohna. Roop is one of India's largest OEM suppliers of auto parts such as steering yokes, differential housings and connecting rods, and is representative of the type of customer in the region that uses Haas CNC machine tools.

Taking the spotlight at HaasTec Manesar, and making its second public appearance in India, was the Haas UMC-750 five-axis universal machining centre which, like all machines at the event, was under power and cutting metal in order to show its capabilities to visitors. Haas specialists from the HFO (Haas Factory Outlet), Phillipscorp, CNCSSIPL were close on hand at all times to talk visitors through the demonstrations and answer any questions.

The UMC-750 five-axis VMC offers a generous capacity of 762 x 508 x 508 mm in the X, Y and Z axes respectively. It features a two-axis, 630 x 500 mm integrated trunnion rotary table with +110 and -35 degrees of tilt and 360 degrees of rotation to provide excellent tool clearance and large part capacity up to 300 kg. Also featured is a 40+1 side mount tool changer and a 40-taper, 22.4 kW, 12000 rpm direct drive spindle.

A selection of the company's technology partners were also invited to display their complementary products. Among them was global metrology expert, Renishaw.

"Here is a true five-axis machine from Haas, at an amazing show back in town," said Renishaw's Neeraj Vohra. "At the HaasTec, we could partner with Haas using our probes on their powerful machining centres. We are thankful to the Haas team for providing us with an opportunity to exhibit and discuss advanced machining trends."

A number of cutting tool specialists also exhibited at the show, including Sandvik Coromant. The company's Pawan Bhatt said: "Thanks to Haas for taking the initiative to exhibit the latest technologies and trends in metal cutting. The show location helped us reach out to many customers."

A Tungaloy representative agreed, and added: "HaasTec Manesar witnessed a good turnout of customers from different sectors and segments," while Raji Syal of Seco Tools stated: "HaasTec is a platform where we can interact with focused visitors and showcase the strength of our products and services."

Demonstrations, tours and a live Q&A counter were among other highlights of an event that was appreciated by all, including Terence Miranda, Managing Director of the HFO in Mumbai: "We only recently witnessed 2500 visitors attend our HaasTec event in Ahmedabad, western India, so to attract a further 2700 at Manesar is equally pleasing and once more demonstrates the regional support for machine tool technologies developed by Haas. I want to say a huge thank you to all those who attended."