Show debutant Heller Machine Tools has stolen a march on rival exhibitors by bringing a 16t, five-axis titanium-milling machine to its stand for live demonstrations.

"A lot of machine tool companies come to Farnborough, but we decided to go that step further and bring a machine," says Geoff Lloyd, managing director of Germany-headquartered Heller's UK subsidiary. "We have had very strong enquiries from potential customers from all over the world," he adds.

Lloyd says the response has been so positive that the company has already booked its stand for the 2012 Farnborough air show.

The FT2000 costs around £300,000 ($458,000) and is used to mill titanium parts. Machines of this type normally require special foundations, but the FT2000 is able to function at the show, despite being mounted on the equivalent of a "parking lot", says Lloyd.

Heller is a 100-year-old company that has traditionally focused on the automotive industry, but "we are now passing that experience to our aerospace customer base", says Lloyd.

Source: Flight Daily News