{"id":5530,"date":"2025-12-15T11:51:41","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T16:51:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.emecmt.com\/?p=5530"},"modified":"2025-12-15T11:53:40","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T16:53:40","slug":"for-cavalier-tool-fast-is-the-best-way-forward-customer-testimonial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.emecmt.com\/en\/for-cavalier-tool-fast-is-the-best-way-forward-customer-testimonial\/","title":{"rendered":"For Cavalier Tool: Fast Is the Best Way Forward \u2013 Customer Testimonial"},"content":{"rendered":"

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For this global manufacturer of molds and large parts, sustained speed and shortened cycle times come standard with Okuma double column machining centers.<\/h3>\n

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\u201c Over a 12-week build, a block is touched six or seven times. The Okumas have cut that in half. They can do far more operations, which means we don\u2019t have to go to other machines. \u201d \u2013 says Cavalier President Brian Bendig<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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By Okuma America Corporation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Innovation doesn\u2019t keep business hours, but if it did, it would operate just like Cavalier Tool and Manufacturing Ltd.: 24\/7\/363. While other shops clock out,\u00a0Cavalier Tool and Manufacturing Ltd.<\/a>\u2019s next shift is just getting started. Work moves constantly, continuously, and faster than competitors, with shortened cycle times resulting from iron-clad processes and high-performance Okuma machine tools. Even on their two days off, multi-day jobs still run. Monstrous chips still fly. Every spindle revolution still counts.<\/p>\n

Cavalier Tool knows how to deliver optimal results without pause. It\u2019s how they\u2019ve worked for 50 years, transforming their own standards of speed and putting customers first along the way. It\u2019s how they want to work for 50 more, but with an even greater impact.<\/p>\n

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A CANADIAN MANUFACTURER WITH A GLOBAL REACH<\/h4>\n

Cavalier Tool is a respected global manufacturer of mid- to large-sized molds. Injection, aluminum, multi-shot, gas counter pressure, and more \u2014 the Windsor, Ontario, company stands on five decades of perfecting molds for a diverse customer base. Their always-on workflows include exceptionally big workpieces for a variety of buyers, too.<\/p>\n

Instead of exclusively adhering to geographical tradition (as Detroit\u2019s cross-border neighbor) and doubling down within automotive markets, Cavalier Tool aligned itself with outside industry opportunities over time; around 70% of business today focuses on consumer, commercial, recreation, heavy trucking, and agricultural sectors. \u201cWe build for 140 different customers each year,\u201d says Brian Bendig, president of Cavalier Tool. \u201cWe\u2019re in the top 10 of \u2018largest non-automotive shops in North America.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a strategic decision that strengthens Cavalier Tool\u2019s competitiveness, company stature, and category leadership, job by job, year over year. So is their commitment to investing in the right machine tools that complete every mold and component \u2014 to spec, with speed, ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n

THE OKUMA IMPACT<\/h4>\n

To make big, powerful parts and outrun conventional manufacturing paces, Cavalier Tool relies on big, powerful machines that outrun the rest in capability. That\u2019s why they partner with Okuma.<\/p>\n

The relationship started in 2015 with Cavalier Tool\u2019s first Okuma machine tool, the\u00a0GENOS M560-V<\/a>, a flagship vertical machining center in the industry. This industry-leading VMC has one of the biggest tables and maximum table loads in its class, a 15,000-rpm spindle, and a 32-tool magazine. From the very first cut, its structural proficiency and ultra reliability showed Bendig, his team, and most importantly, his customers, a future full of new possibilities. Cavalier Tool could deliver tighter tolerances, take on more complex jobs, and provide some of the shortest lead times the mold and die= industry has to offer. In no time, like it so often does,\u00a0one Okuma machine served as a stepping stone to more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cavalier Tool added two identical Okuma lathes, then two of the same model double column machining centers to their floor over the next eight years. New contracts and repeat business followed, and a pattern emerged. \u201cWhen we\u2019re building a job, there are a hundred things to do,\u201d explains Bendig. \u201cOver a 12-week build, a block is touched six or seven times. The Okumas have cut that in half. They can do far more operations, which means we don\u2019t have to go to other machines.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each time a part is moved, operations lose revenue and increase cycle times. Bendig tells us, \u201cEvery time you move a block, it\u2019s $1,000 to $3,000 in costs and time is lost.\u201d That\u2019s an unwanted combination for a manufacturer who promises speed (and shortened deadlines) alongside precision. Okuma machines\u2019 process versatility changed that \u2014 and still does \u2014 with fewer setups, no matter how intricate the part or mold.<\/p>\n

Standardization of machine tools also keeps Cavalier Tool at the forefront of fast builds. \u201cWe have a lot of duplicate machines,\u201d says Bendig. \u201cIt\u2019s intentional. We keep the same head and the same travel, and consistency in control is crucial. We program to an environment because it\u2019s good for workforce retention and great for process, especially if an urgent job comes in. Anyone on any of our five shifts can operate the machine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Okumas are busier than the rest of our machine tools. Work migrates toward those machines. That always tells you something\u2019s right,\u201d adds Larry Caron, plant manager.<\/p>\n

GO BIG OR GO BIGGER<\/h4>\n

Lots of work migrates to the\u00a0Okuma MCR-A5CII<\/a>\u00a0double columns, proof that going big pays off.<\/p>\n

With these investments, Cavalier Tool\u2019s cutting and operational speeds quickened. They gained the table space and travels needed to take on parts that simply couldn\u2019t fit on standard lathes and machining centers \u2014 like larger molds and longer, taller structural components. Smaller, high-mix jobs can also be run on the same platform. Their MCR-A5CIIs mill and have multi-axis capabilities for 5-face machining, too, keeping more options (and thus, parts) on one piece of equipment. The automatic tool changer (mounted on the cross rail) holds 80 tools, the 2-station auto attachment changer handles wide-area machining with ease, and each component is intentionally designed for precision.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe [double column] machines have higher accuracies, even as they get bigger,\u201d Bendig says. \u201cThere aren\u2019t a ton of builders who do that well.\u201d But Okuma does, relying on a highly rigid guide system and a bridged, square structure to take heavy cuts on heavy parts, holding tolerances every time.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL COVERAGE ON CAVALIER TOOL & MANUFACTURING’S WEBSITE<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>[vc_single_image image=”5532″ img_size=”Full” alignment=”center”]

Cavalier Tool is proud of these machines and the many types of work they can say \u201cyes\u201d to with them. The first MCR-A5CII added capability at an increased pace. The second one added scale and capacity \u2014 a force multiplier for even faster output and greater flexibility.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0third<\/i>\u00a0one would guarantee uptime on oversized jobs, further expand throughput, and\u00a0never<\/i>\u00a0having to tell customers, \u201cWe can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cavalier Tool went all in.<\/p>\n

INVESTING WITH CONFIDENCE<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Investing in a third double column made perfect sense. Resource planning, business projections, and cost-benefit analyses at the beginning of 2025 showed Bendig, Caron, and the Cavalier Tool team that another Okuma double column, the\u00a0MCR-BV<\/a>\u00a0this time, would be a lot more than just an extra spindle. On paper, it took weeks off orders, opened up time on other machines, and enabled more complex toolpaths. In theory, it handled parts up to 196 inches long and supported up to 35 tonnes of material. But before any contract was signed, Bendig wanted to see how the MCR-BV performed in person.<\/p>\n

Windsor, Ontario, and Houston, Texas, are 1,313 miles from each other, but test cuts came together quickly at\u00a0Hartwig (Houston)<\/a>, a long-time Okuma distributor with the MCR-BV on its showroom floor. Materials were shipped. Tools were in place. The machine was booked, ready, and waiting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe needed a bunch of horsepower and rigidity for heavy drilling. A lot of people like to say their machine tools are rigid, but we like to see how much cutting we can actually do. We got a three-inch drill and a six-inch facemill in there. We cut straight and cut on an angled head. This machine threw chips everywhere,\u201d says Bendig, impressed by torque and speed. \u201cIt was faster than we thought it\u2019d be. It did everything great. All eyes were on us and the machine during the test cut. No one in the room had ever seen their tool run like this.\u201d That\u2019s because no one makes double column machining centers like Okuma.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>[vc_single_image image=”5534″ img_size=”Full” alignment=”center”]

Bendig finalized the deal with an assured confidence, which added the following strengths and differentiators to Cavalier Tool\u2019s operations:<\/p>\n