The latest HaasTEC Open House event at Manesar in India closed recently with glowing reports from exhibitors and visitors alike. Now in its third year, Haas Automation says the 2013 event proved even more popular than the two preceding editions. Staged at Manesar near New Delhi on October 16 to 19, the Open House attracted over 1500 visitors from across the Gurgaon district and the wider State of Haryana.

Supported by the rapidly expanding automotive sector, Manesar is one of the fastest growing townships in India. This is one of the main reasons why the local Haas Factory Outlet (HFO), a division of CNC Servicing and Solutions India Pvt Ltd, is also located here. The HFO provided the venue for HaasTEC 2013, where visitors found a wide selection of Haas technology on display for applications ranging from high-speed milling to multi-axis turning. Machines included various configurations of Y-axis CNC lathes such as the DS-30Y dual-spindle and ST-20Y single-spindle models. Also under power were the EC-400 horizontal machining centre and the best selling DT-1 drill/tap machine, as well as VF-2 and VF-4SS super speed vertical machining centres.

"We had all six machines running continuously, cutting parts with aggressive parameters to showcase our machining capabilities, along with advances in tooling, programming strategies and workholding," says Mr Terrence Miranda, Managing Director of Haas Automation India. "There is a large Haas customer-base in the Manesar area. In particular, we have many customers from the automotive sector, many of whom came along to speak directly to our engineers."

"It was a pleasure to return to India to work with our local representatives at HaasTEC 2013," adds Bryan O'Fallon, Product Specialist at Haas Automation Inc. "On account of customer feedback from previous shows, this year we added a number of new initiatives, including live steel cutting demonstrations and the presentation of several technical seminars. In addition, we also allowed a select number of industry partners to showcase their latest products in technology areas such as tooling, probing, CADCAM, workholding and automation to name but a few."

Among their number was Renishaw, a leading global specialist in metrology, which was keen to showcase its latest innovations relating to machine tool calibration and probing.

"HaasTEC 2013 was a real customer-oriented initiative where machine tool users had the chance to see a complete range of solutions under one roof," says Renishaw's Mr Neeraj Vohra. "For Renishaw, it was an opportunity to show our probing systems live on Haas CNC machines. We also displayed a range of process control systems that support metrology-assisted manufacturing - from new technologies for machine calibration through to in-process and post-process measurement tasks."

Mr Anoop Pandey of Mitsubishi Materials Corp (MMC) was equally pleased with the opportunity presented by HaasTEC: "When a customer needs a complete package of solutions all under one roof, an exhibition such as HaasTEC is not to be missed," he says. "It provided the chance to present live demonstrations on machines along with metal cutting solutions, software, lubricants and other accessories - all were on show. The massive success of HaasTEC 2013 demonstrates the popularity of the concept."

"It's great to be part of a wonderful and very well organised show," concurs Mr. Rajit Syal of cutting tool manufacturer, Seco Tools. "HaasTEC provided us with a unique opportunity to catch up on new developments across many different sectors and to showcase the latest technology solutions from Seco."

The excellent response from industry partners and visitors alike has set the stage for the next HaasTEC, which will be held in Navi Mumbai, a rapidly expanding township in western India on January 16 to 19, 2014.