Experts in speciality CNC lathes Based in Wroclaw, Poland, FAT S.A., is a leading European manufacturer of conventional and computerised numerically controlled custom-made lathes. The company is a member of HACO Group from Belgium, the world leader in sheet metal working machines.
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AT was established in 1945. The company was founded on the ground of two former German businesses: Gustav Trelenberg’s Metal Works and Friedrich Heckmann’s Machine Works. The origins of both companies reach back to the 19th century. Initially, FAT produced machine tools, and mostly low and medium-sized conventional lathes. Up until the mid-1990s the company made and sold more than 50,000 machines. 1998 was a milestone year for FAT as the company was taken over by Belgium’s HACO Group, an internationally renowned CNC machine dealer and manufacturer. Founded in 1965, and originally famous for sheet metal and woodworking machines, the passing of time has made HACO into more than just a manufacturer of press brakes and shears. Since the mid-1990s, it has evolved into a company that produces not only 66 Industry Europe
sheet metal machines, but also larger and more complex machine tools, such as lathes and special machines. With the takeover of FAT, HACO was able to offer the machines for the treatment of very large profiles and parts, affordable lathes and milling machines. The Wroclaw-based firm has focused on the production of both conventional and CNC controlled flatbed CNC lathes. Since 2001, its product line has been extended with a modern slant bed CNC Lathe and multifunctional turn- mill centres. “Our machines are easy to operate thanks to high-level controls. They are also suited for machining a wide variety of different materials”, points out Mr. Ireneusz Ostrowski, the company’s sales and marketing director. FAT employs 200 people in its Wroclaw facility. In 2017, FAT purchased Design Technologies International, a company from
