HOW COMPANIES IN YOUR COUNTRY USE HAAS MACHINES TO IMPROVE THEIR EFFECTIVENESS

Káta CNC Kft. | Success stories from Haas customers

20 years 23 machines - with Haas plant in the name of stability and long-term visions - KÁTA CNC success story

We visited Szentlőrinckáta, almost 70 km from Budapest, at the KÁTA CNC site, the largest employer in the village of a population of 2,000. The company, which was founded more than 20 years ago in 1997 in a rented hall at that time, was started here by János Csányi. We talked to him and the company’s technical manager, Zsolt Dobák, about the development of the company, which now employs 300 people and has a branch in Jászberény, as well as about the history of its machinery investments.

CNCMedia: The name KÁTA CNC sounds familiar to many, but what exactly do you do?

János Csányi: The company’s activity is metalworking. We produce high-quality products from extruded aluminum and steel profiles by cutting, stamping, welding, and assembly. We mainly deal with air conditioning connectors for automotive parts, which is now supplemented by the production of brackets.

CNCMedia: From the beginning, you have been supplying and manufacturing parts to the automotive industry. With what machines did you start and how did you attain the current set of machines?

János Csányi: Like all start-ups, we tried several machines. As I mentioned earlier, we work with large series with huge numbers, so you have to pay close attention to the numbers. An important consideration when choosing a machine was not to be specialized in the production of a product, but at the same time to be able to serve the needs of the customer. SV machines proved to be a successful investment in the beginning, and then KIA machines were also considered, as we work mainly with aluminum cutting and little iron material.

Through Bartec, we took our first Haas machine, which came into the picture when larger pieces, chamber profiles, came into play, and we looked for the type of machine that was right for it.

Value for money, it looked good and we started buying a machine or two, of course. It looked like it was very successful.

Zsolt Dobák: We have been dealing with CNC cutting and the production of these parts as an automotive supplier for more than 20 years. The component palette is very wide. It ranges from palm-sized parts to several meters in size, and comes in all shapes. Sometime in the early 2000s, we bought our first Haas machine, followed by another 23. They are truly reliable machines.

CNCMedia: When you hear about the automotive industry, the question is almost inevitable, how much do you feel the stagnation of the sector, and how is the transformation of this market and the virus situation affecting you?

János Csányi: We also understand the decline and the slowdown, but now we are seeing a rising trend. We have also seen a change in the fact that we usually produce in large series, but in the current situation we no longer have a choice, we also try to meet smaller and custom-made requests. However, as we manufacture brackets for air conditioning or motor connectors, electric, hybrid, or alternative drives that take the place of combustion engines, these do not affect our orders.

CNCMedia: Wasn’t there more uncertainty? Did you look at other brands of machines?

János Csányi: Not really. After that, we persisted and only continued machining with Haas machines. So, at the moment, we have to say that we are very satisfied with the Haas machines.

CNCMedia: Is the satisfaction just about the machines or is there something else?

János Csányi: We are also satisfied with the Haas team, the service, the sales department, and their service team. We also have a small service team, and it is important for us to have a smooth relationship between them and the brand service. This works very well now, and we can solve all problems quickly.

Zsolt Dobák: I can only confirm this, we didn’t have a problem that we couldn't solve together. Our specialist team knows the machines like the back of their palm, so the Haas service team can guide them often over the phone.

CNCMedia: What kind of machinery do you have now, and are you planning to expand or automate?

Zsolt Dobák: Some of our existing machines are VF-3 and VF-4 double four-axis machining centers. The other part of our machines is a five-axis machining center. These have been used to make large quantities of parts 24 hours a day, actually for years. As I mentioned earlier, these are really reliable machines. We produce a lot of commercial parts on many machines, I can say that we make full use of their machine capabilities and capacity.

In connection with automation, the idea of collaborative robots has been considered. We thought about purchasing 4, 8, or even more units later, treated in a cell with a robot, but the automotive industry situation didn’t make it possible now.

János Csányi: The necessary automation is done by our own development team. Of course, there are situations that only a specialist workshop can solve, but we have our own target machine design team, and we also design the receiving units.

CNCMedia: How do you see the future of the company, what is the direction?

Zsolt Dobák: What I learned in 20 years is that there is no definitive cutting process. It always needs to be improved, constantly. There are opportunities. Tools are evolving, machines are constantly evolving. So you always have to be curious about new ones. We are looking for ways to be more productive and thus more economical.

János Csányi: The goal is not to stand on just one foot. We have already taken a step from the air conditioning connectors to the brackets. Now a second stage is coming into our lives, for which we have set up an automatic welding robot, bought flat and tube lasers so that we can not only serve the needs of the automotive industry, but also take on other types of assignments.

About Káta CNC Kft.

Haas machines:

✔ Products made on Haas machines: road vehicle and vehicle engine parts

✔ Location: Szentlőrinckáta and Jászberény, Hungary

Find out more about Káta CNC Kft: https://www.katacnc.hu/