CMZ

CMZ | Writing our history

05/04/2019

It's safe to say that nowadays, CMZ is a renowned manufacturer of CNC lathes. At times we like to stop and take a look back to remember how everything started, see how we got to where we are today and all the stages our company has gone through. Without knowing it, we were building our history and, just as it says in this video, "everyone has one – this is ours".

It all started in 1945

CMZ is a family business. It's a legacy that the Zumarraga family has been passing down from generation to generation. It was Florencio Zumarraga, the grandfather of the current owners, who started everything underneath a small building in the town of Zaldibar. Back then, CMZ manufactured all types of machinery, until it launched the L-350 shapers and tasted the sweet taste of success.

The desire to achieve

Nevertheless, things weren't always so great. In the 1960s, CMZ found itself affected by a serious stability crisis that it was able to overcome thanks to hard work and exports. This allowed the company to grow, increase its workforce, move to a new site and, with this, increase productive capacity. After the shapers came parallel lathes and with them the Halcón 360, CMZ's first CNC lathe. Just at this moment, the Zumarraga brothers entered the scene and things took an unexpected turn.

Specialization and perseverance

They say that two things are needed for success: dreams and work. By the time the third generation of the family was in charge of CMZ, the company was facing a difficult moment. While other manufacturers were choosing to diversify and increase their range of products, Aitor and Iñaki Zumarraga decided to go against the grain and specialize only in CNC lathes. At that time, such a risky and controversial decision seemed to be a death sentence for the company. But it wasn't the case at all. They dreamt of manufacturing the best CNC lathes and, little by little, they achieved it.

Unstoppable expansion

Aware of its need to consolidate its presence at a European level, CMZ gave the go ahead to internationalization with the opening of CMZ France in 2004. This subsidiary reached its 15th anniversary this year thanks to the impeccable work of Laurent Loustalot and his team. After France, CMZ reached the United Kingdom and Germany, each with their own subsidiaries. Finally, but no less importantly, Paolo Paccagnini, alongside his faithful partner in crime Renzo Codari, launched CMZ's Italian subsidiary. In the last 5 years, they turned the land of pizza into CMZ's main market. Sadly, Paolo is no longer with us, but his memory always will be.

High productive capacity

The launch of Seuner, CMZ's second assembly plant, was a turning point. The TD Series, which includes CNC lathes for machining 2 and 3 metre parts, is manufactured entirely at this plant. A strong move from the company in favour of increasing its productive capacity.

A wide range of CNC lathes

We manufacture robust, powerful and reliable CNC lathes with a good price-to-quality ratio. Most of the parts are manufactured at plants owned by us: Mecaninor, Precitor, Cafisur, Meydi, etc., which means we control the process 100% and use the best materials. We have a range of products amongst which the client will definitely find the CNC lathe they're seeking: from the always functional and reputable lathes from the TA series, to the multi-turret TX with prismatic guide to the powerful TD, equipped with integrated spindles and a 12,000 rpm motorized tool.

The numbers speak for themselves

Being a family company, CMZ is made up of more than 300 employees from different countries and cultures who all have a shared dream: to work as a team, give our best and manufacture top-quality CNC lathes. 32,000m2 of facilities and the know-how accumulated over almost 75 years of history mean that we can deliver an average of 2.5 lathes per day to our clients. This is not an inconsiderable figure, especially considering the family business philosophy that's in our DNA.

We keep dreaming

And in the end, ladies and gentlemen, this is about dreams. It's about projecting, believing you can do it, sacrificing, going against the grain and, of course, giving your best at all times. Thanks to all of this, we are what we are today. We can't predict the future, but we will work hard, believing that we can do it, knowing that with determination, enthusiasm, effort and discipline we can go far. Very far.