A recent report by the ARC Advisory Group, Dedham, Mass., ranked Siemens Corp. as the top supplier in the global computer numeric control (CNC) market for cutting-tool machinery. The top three vendors, ranked behind Siemens are Fanuc, Mitsubishi, and Heidenhain.
A market once dominated by Fanuc has seen one of the most significant shifts in the last 15 years, according to ARC. The worldwide CNC market is being reshaped as the two leading suppliers, Siemens and Fanuc, battle for the dominant position.
The effect of a weak economy in Japan has forced Japanese CNC suppliers to seek business outside of their domestic comfort zone. On the other hand, Siemens benefited from a resurgence in the European machine-tool market. European machine-tool builders experienced a tremendous growth in machinery demand from local and export markets. The pent up demand in the local market is being fulfilled, while the weak Euro made European machine tools a bargain to buyers in other regions. These factors contributed to Siemens inroads in gaining CNC market share.