Do you remember... CMZ on the TV show “El Hormiguero”?

El Hormiguero

El Hormiguero is a prime time TV show broadcast in Spain by the channel Antena 3, which has been running for over 13 years. When it burst onto television screens, it created a watershed moment in how television was made. The show has varied content that centres around science and general knowledge, risk and triumph. In addition, the programme always has national or international stars which are an enormous pull for audiences.

Everything started with a phone call

El Hormiguero discovered us while searching on the internet for digital control lathes. They stumbled upon CMZ, and when they phoned us we were surprised and excited in equal measures. They wanted to have a machine like ours on the show. We didn't hesitate for a second. We soon organised everything. We still look back with nostalgia on the days running up to what was the highlight of our year. It was the year 2015 and we eagerly prepared for the appearance.

The chunk of bronze

The challenge was simple. We had to machine a piece of bronze in a matter of seconds to transform it into a lovely chess pawn. Jose Antonio waved the flag high for the company, giving all sorts of explanations about the functioning of our machines. We are very familiar with the terminology, but for common mortals these machines are completely unknown. The show presented our lathes as machines weighing over 6 tonnes, with a higher acceleration rate than a Formula 1 car and capable of producing many different types of pieces.

Big surprise

The guests of honour were the singers Victor Manuel and Ana Belén, legends on the Spanish music scene. They couldn't have been more surprised by the high speed and precision of our machines. They liked the final result so much that we gave them a pawn we'd made earlier to take home as a souvenir.

Without a doubt it was a unique experience and a different way of bringing our CMZ lathes closer to the general public.