The cross-oceanic journey of an Austrian precision machine tool “The CIIE is a valuable display window and cooperation platform” (CIIE Story)

People's Daily reporter Han Shuo

The ninth China International Import Expo is about to open, and the technical equipment exhibition area will welcome a "big guy" from Austria, which is particularly eye-catching. It is the M35-G MILLTURN turning and milling compound machining center. This high-end precision machine tool will make its Asian debut here.

A date of thousands of miles

This first show stems from a journey spanning thousands of miles across the Eurasian continent.

As one of the first seaborne entry exhibits at this CIIE, this "big guy"'s journey to Asia and Europe is not an easy one. The transportation of precision machine tools must withstand continuous vibration and bumps, sea salt spray, and "container rain" caused by condensation due to temperature differences between day and night. Any carelessness may cause micron-level accuracy deviations. To maintain this micron-level precision, there is no room for mistakes in transportation.

On August 7, local time, in Linz, Austria, in the production workshop of WFL Turning and Milling Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "WFL"), workers carefully made rust-proof vacuum packaging for high-precision spindles, grating rulers, and measuring probes. The packaging boxes were equipped with desiccant and humidity indicator cards, and the environment inside the boxes was monitored throughout the process before being packed into customized large packaging boxes. The shipping team chose a land-sea combined transportation solution with fewer transfers and controllable risks. The special large-size truck carrying equipment left the factory, crossed the hinterland of Europe, and headed for the Port of Hamburg, Germany.

On August 25, local time, the Port of Hamburg, Germany. The huge gantry crane moved back and forth, and the equipment was loaded into three containers. After being hoisted, it was loaded onto the COSCO Shipping "Orient Sweden" ship and sailed toward the East.

Riding the wind and waves, traveling day and night. The cargo ship crossed the North Sea, bypassed the English Channel, and crossed the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. On October 12, it sailed into Shanghai Yangshan Deep Water Port. The tower crane rose and fell, and the "big guy" landed steadily, running non-stop towards the "Four-leaf Clover" exhibition hall.

From the spreader in Hamburg Port to the quay crane in Yangshan Port, every hoisting and transportation of this precision machine tool is included in a set of carefully connected guarantee chains.

The entry process for large and sophisticated exhibits is cumbersome and puts forward higher requirements for customs clearance guarantees. "The customs clearance efficiency, docking communication and service guarantee along the way are amazing." WFL general manager Stefan Hackel said that relying on the CIIE's mature customs clearance arrangements for exhibits, customs, border inspection, terminal docking in advance, appointment inspection, and green channel for priority release, the entry channel was opened for this machine tool, allowing exhibitors to travel lightly. The smooth port coordination guarantee has strengthened WFL's confidence in sending this Asia's first exhibition equipment to the CIIE. It also demonstrates Shanghai's confidence in serving global exhibitions and undertaking oversized exhibits.

An industry peer

"Big Guy" adopts the "one-time installation, complete completion" process, integrating multiple processes such as turning, milling, gear hobbing, deep hole drilling, and online measurement. It can process aerospace shaft parts, energy and power plate parts, and complex components in shipbuilding heavy industry. It is suitable for difficult-to-machine materials such as titanium alloys and high-temperature alloys.

As an industry "hidden champion" rooted in Linz, Austria, WFL has been deeply involved in the field of high-end turning and milling composites for more than 40 years and is an early start on the track. "Although this is the first time we are exhibiting a complete machine at the exhibition, we have been working side by side with China's manufacturing industry for more than 20 years," Hackel said. As early as 2005, WFL set up a representative office in Beijing and successively established a localized full life cycle service support network covering sales, process development, on-site debugging, and spare parts warehousing. Up to now, nearly 300 WFL equipment have been installed in various high-end manufacturing factories in China, integrated into many key industrial fields such as aviation, shipbuilding, and energy, and serve in the research of domestic major equipment parts.

"Many leading companies in China's key industries choose WFL turning and milling composite equipment." Liu Yanxia, ​​chief representative of WFL's Beijing representative office, said that in response to the material characteristics of parts and components of Chinese companies, experts from both sides collaborated to polish process plans and simultaneously carried out technical training.

In the process of polishing plans with Chinese engineers again and again, Hackel truly felt that the needs of the manufacturing industry were undergoing profound changes: In the past, customers paid more attention to product hardware parameters when purchasing equipment. Now more and more companies come to us with part drawings and pursue complete process solutions that adapt to their own production conditions. The relationship between buyers and sellers has transformed into a process partnership. A large number of China's specialized and innovative enterprises have devoted themselves to the high-end parts and components track, daring to overcome technical difficulties and opening up new development space for overseas equipment enterprises. "The CIIE gives us a stage to face the front lines of the industry, bring complete processing solutions to China's manufacturing industry, and find a group of process partners who can jointly tackle parts manufacturing problems," Hackel said.

Hackel believes that this appointment is not a simple product exhibition. He looks forward to face-to-face communication with experts and leaders of China's high-end manufacturing companies at the CIIE, listening to the actual demands of China's manufacturing industry, and exploring deeper collaborative paths. "Our goal is not only to sell more equipment, but also to participate in the collaborative research and development of efficient composite processing technology, keep up with the pace of China's industrial upgrading, and find a development direction that suits us," Hackel said.

German management scientist Hermann Simon believes that complete industrial supporting facilities, sufficient engineer resources and ultra-large-scale application scenarios make China the best testing ground for real-life testing and large-scale implementation of global advanced manufacturing technologies, and it has also become an incremental engine for global "hidden champions". Hackel said: "China occupies an important position in the global manufacturing map. Shanghai is an important hub for our layout in the Asia-Pacific market. The CIIE is a valuable display window and cooperation platform."

an open platform

Why did you choose to put the "big guy"'s Asian debut at the CIIE?

"The R&D and procurement teams of national-level scientific research institutes, OEMs, and specialized new enterprises are gathered here to meet the real needs of Chinese industries. The CIIE can skip all the intermediate links and give companies the opportunity to face China's high-end industries." Liu Yanxia said, "WFL's participation in this exhibition is not only pursuing product orders, but also hoping to connect with the Chinese market here, find like-minded partners, jointly polish processing solutions suitable for local production scenarios, and find new cooperation possibilities in the docking of the Asia-Pacific industrial chain."

Nowadays, a large number of specialized and new enterprises in China are deeply involved in high-end parts and components, and the demand for integrated composite processing continues to grow, which also allows WFL to see a broader space for cooperation. Liu Yanxia said: "The transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry and the development of new productivity have opened up a new window of opportunity for overseas high-end equipment companies. In the future, we hope to continue to develop steadily in the Chinese market."

The transoceanic journey of a precision machine tool is a vivid epitome of the long-term industrial exchanges between China and Austria. 2026 coincides with the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Austria. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the bilateral trade volume between China and Austria has increased by more than 400 times, achieving leapfrog development. In 2025, China has become Austria's third largest trading partner. So far, more than 650 Austrian companies have invested and established business in China, with more than 1,500 joint venture and cooperation projects, covering high value-added fields such as fine chemicals and auto parts.

Across mountains and seas, an Austrian precision machine tool witnesses the pragmatic cooperation between Chinese and foreign manufacturing companies to tackle key problems, and also reflects the emerging cooperation opportunities in China's open market.