At EMO Hannover 2025, one company seemed to be everywhere you turned. UNITED MACHINING SOLUTIONS arrived with confidence, but even they may not have expected to walk away with two of the MTI Awards' most talked-about honours. It was a moment that marked not just a successful week at a trade show, but a broader shift in how the group positions itself in a rapidly evolving manufacturing landscape.
The first highlight of the night came when UNITED GRINDING received the Best Overall Solution award for its Digital Manufacturing Ecosystem. What made this recognition resonate was how long it has been in the making. A decade ago, the company made the decision to build a unified digital foundation at a time when the industry was still experimenting with scattered solutions. That decision led to the development of C.O.R.E., a platform designed to give their CNC machines a common language and a shared intelligence.
Fast forward to this year's EMO, and the picture is finally complete. By integrating the independent customer portal from Transaction Network into its ecosystem, UNITED GRINDING is offering manufacturers something more cohesive than a series of digital tools. Users can view, analyse and improve their production processes in real time, all within one connected environment. It is a level of transparency and usability that moves the conversation around smart factories from theoretical to practical.
Christoph Plüss, CTO of UNITED MACHINING SOLUTIONS, accepted the award on behalf of the team. The pride was evident, not because of the trophy itself, but because this achievement reflects years of consistent, sometimes quiet, development work that is now paying off in a very visible way.
The second award of the evening celebrated a very different type of innovation. CHARMILLES, one of the group's precision-focused brands, earned the Green Impact Award for its work combining the 3DShaping process with the LASER S 500 U platform. While the title sounds technical, the outcome is simple to understand. It allows manufacturers to create incredibly detailed micro-geometries with far less energy, no consumables and a noticeably streamlined workflow.
In an industry often associated with heavy resource consumption, this approach feels refreshing. It shows that high-end manufacturing does not need to choose between precision and environmental responsibility. For Philippe Langel, Head of CHARMILLES, the award reinforces a belief he often expresses: sustainability is not a future goal, it is a present obligation.
Together, the two awards reveal a clear picture of where UNITED MACHINING SOLUTIONS is heading. One foot in the digital future, the other firmly grounded in sustainable progress. And if EMO 2025 is any indication, they are gaining momentum on both fronts.
Christoph Plüss CTO UNITED MACHINING SOLUTIONS; Gerd Bart CEO Transaction-Network, Philippe Langel Head of CHARMILLES, Adrien Rodrigues Business Support Manager CHARMILLES (f.l.t.r.) – winners of two different MTI Awards 2025, one for UNITED GRINDING and one for CHARMILLES
