“At MYL we always have at least five research and development projects underway. We also have a role in several research processes in partnership with other companies and technology centres” What is the job of the MYL R&D department? To design and develop new spindles, provide specialist technical support for repairs, establish manufacturing processes, find out customers’ needs and advise them throughout the process. What design tools do you use? Industrial design programmes like Solid Edge ST8, AutoCAD and bearing calculation software from different manufacturers. We also rely on the cooperation of engineering firms and technology centres for certain tasks. What is the relationship with the production department? It’s a daily, hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute relationship. MYL is an organisation where the departments are very tightly integrated together, which means communication between them is constant. Although we perform different tasks and responsibilities are shared out, the feeling is that we all belong to the same department. How do you manage to cater for every customer’s needs? The individuality of every customer and every product is of the essence for MYL. We establish the requirements for every product at first hand, we visit the customer’s plant where the new spindle is to be installed and on this basis we start working together with them. How do we do it? With organisational processes that treat every MYL customer as a unique customer and by contributing our know-how and experience. What technical and technological challenges will you be facing in the coming years? There are many challenges. At MYL we always have at least five research and development projects underway. We also have a role in several research processes in partnership with other companies and technology centres. We are currently working on developing thinner and thinner spindles to be able to grind long pieces in one setup. We are also in the course of researching a type of multi-process spindle, to meet the requirements for precision in the grinding process and with the rigidity required for turning. And for the automotive industry we are starting to design products that include measuring features.