CMT – Making the Moves to Make More

CMT, the orange bit company, long known for excellent saw blades and router bits, has been making some major changes. But it is unlikely that you’ve noticed them. That is because the changes have been in the tooling and machines that make the router bits, etc. By adding more advanced computer (numerically) controlled machines (CNC), with multiple machining heads and stations, CMT has been able to increase their production capabilities without eroding quality. Owned and run by the Tommassini family, these changes have been made along with an increased focus on router bits and boring bits.
The CMT factories that I visited are located in and around the town of Pesaro, Italy. It is a beautiful locale, situated on the Adriatic and nestled into green rolling hills. Even in December the weather was wonderful and the people hospitable. All these characteristics have kept this region popular from Etruscan times, through the Roman empires until today.

Quality is the Target
Whether you are talking about the machining of bit blanks, or the application of Teflon® coating, or the sophisticated and automated application of flux to tri-metal, and even brazing and cooling – CMTs processes are all aimed at producing superior quality products. High quality steel is used and their carbide is formulated and made at one of the world's best carbide production companies. Every process is examined for continuous improvement, and the investment in new CNC machinery was key to this plan. An added goal was to increase the volume of product that could be manufactured, to avoid any potential problems of vendor back orders. According to my host, Lucia Spallucci, CMT has been very cautious to not overproduce. This has meant that some products were slower to market than they would have liked, but it kept customer satisfaction very high. Increased capacity will solve the problem without causing any erosion of service.

I was able to go into the factories (as you can see in the photos) and see first hand the system improvement. I was impressed with the people on the floor as well as the machinery they were operating. I also got a sneak peek at a new product (the first five pieces were just made when I walked up to the milling machine). I am honor bound not to reveal what it is, but I can say without a doubt that it will be a great new product. I wish I had begged for a test model right there and then.

I am no prophet, just a lowly editor, but I would say the CMT that I observed is positioned well for a successful future.

Oh, and the accommodations in Pesaro were so very excellent. We stayed at a Villa built in the 1600s; it had a beautiful garden, exceptional antiques and wonderful paintings and tapestries.

Images top to bottom: Your favorite editor in a lovely Italian garden. CMT's founder Osvaldo Tommassini and Lucia Spallacci, CMT production faciliities, a fantastic antique tapestry.