CECIMO Machine Tools Innovation (MTI) Awards 2025
About MTI Awards 2025
As its name indicates, the Machine Tool Innovation Awards (MTI), is an accolade awarded by CECIMO to companies (of all sizes) for their outstanding contribution in the Machine tool sector. The award is not only a vessel of recognition for the winners but also a platform in which winners and applicants can gain ample visibility and wider reach and exposure on an international stage.
Following the success of the 2024 Machine Tools Innovation (MTI) Awards, we were thrilled to come back, this time during EMO Hannover 2025, the largest leading international trade show for the machine tool and production technology sector. It was the perfect stage to showcase and celebrate innovative projects to a global audience.
This year, the Award ceremony was preceded by an Industry panel discussion focused on advanced manufacturing & industrial competitiveness, taking place as part of the Machine Tools Innovation Awards. The panel discussion was followed by the MTI Awards 2025 finalist, which took the Innovation stage at EMO to pitch their projects and innovative solution.
These awards ceremony took place at the Startup Area in which the audience got the chance to recognise once more and celebrate the exceptional achievements of this year’s winners.
The 2025 MTI Award for Best Overall Solution was proudly awarded to United Grinding for its outstanding innovation with the project “Digital Manufacturing Ecosystem.” The award was accepted by Mr Christoph Plüss, Chief Technology Officer at United Grinding.
The Green Impact Award was won by Charmilles for their excellence in sustainable innovation with the project “Precision redefined with 3D Shaping & LASER S 500 U.” The award was accepted by Mr Philippe Langel, Head of Charmilles and Mr Adrien Rodrigues, Head of Strategic Marketing Development at Charmilles.
T-Robotics won the Startup Award for their exceptional contribution to innovation with the project “Built-in AI Robotic Expert for CNC Shops.” The award was accepted by Mr Mathias Hauan Arbo, Chief Operations Officer at T-Robotics. As part of this prestigious recognition, T-Robotics will have the opportunity to feature a complimentary booth at EMO Milan 2027.
Why enter the next edition?
The MTI Awards are open to companies and organisations across Europe (EU + UK + EFTA + Türkiye) in the machine tool sector. Finalists will be invited to present their projects, providing them with a unique opportunity to showcase their innovations to an international audience.
At the Award ceremony event, the finalists will have the full attention of the media, industry leaders, and global market experts. By taking part, they will have the chance to boost their business development in existing markets and tap into new opportunities for growth.
Why apply for mti awards
Visibility & Recognition
MTI competition can help highlight your achievements and bring attention to your products, services and business models. Winning an award can increase a company’s visibility and recognition, which can encourage further innovation.
Networking & Partnerships
You will get the opportunity to network with potential investors, partners, and customers. This can lead to opportunities for joint projects, shared resources, and mutually beneficial business relationships.
Industry trends
You will have the opportunity to learn about the industry trends and best practices in the sector. This can help you to stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in the sector.
Testimonials
Being selected as a CECIMO finalist is a great honour and a meaningful recognition of our commitment to innovation. As a globally respected association in the machine tool industry, CECIMO represents the highest standards—and I’m proud to represent the CHARMILLES brand, which has consistently been at the forefront of technological advancement in manufacturing.
It’s been a privilege to showcase how laser technology is transforming industrial processes. We’ve long promoted lasers for texturing applications as a sustainable alternative to chemical etching, offering cleaner and more efficient solutions. However, micromachining posed greater challenges, particularly in shaping complex geometries. That’s why I’m especially proud of our breakthrough with the 3DShaping function. It allows us to overcome previous limitations and deliver high-precision machining with a leaner, faster, and greener process.
This innovation is a testament to CHARMILLES’ pioneering spirit and our drive to push boundaries. Being recognised by CECIMO reinforces our belief that meaningful innovation not only solves technical challenges—it also contributes to a more sustainable and digitally integrated future for manufacturing.
Winning the CECIMO Machine Tools Innovation Award at EMO Hannover is an incredible honour and a strong validation of the path we’re on at T-ROBOTICS. Our mission is to redefine industrial automation by combining artificial intelligence with deep domain expertise, making automation more intuitive, adaptable, and accessible.
Through ActGPT, we enable robots to understand context, plan intelligently, and execute advanced industrial operations autonomously — from machine tending to more complex processes such as deburring or even assembly in the future. By allowing operators to communicate with machines in natural language, ActGPT automates high-mix low-volume processes that were previously too time-consuming or difficult to program.
This recognition reflects the industry’s growing confidence in AI-driven automation and its potential to bring real, scalable impact to manufacturing. We’re proud to contribute to this transformation and excited to continue empowering manufacturers worldwide.
A heartfelt thank-you to the CECIMO team for supporting this initiative and for championing innovation across the manufacturing community.
Digital transformation within the European machine tool industry remains in its early stages. Many manufacturing companies and machine tool OEMs are struggling to unleash the potential of digital manufacturing. We don’t yet fully realise that the long-term competitiveness and global success of our sector depends on the intelligent digital integration of our high-end machine tools into digital manufacturing ecosystems. For this reason, receiving the CECIMO MTI Award 2025 holds great significance for us.
This recognition not only honours our commitment to advancing digital solutions but also highlights the broader shift toward a connected, data-driven manufacturing ecosystem in Europe. At its core, our mission is to bridge the gap between mechanical excellence and digital innovation — creating value through smarter, more adaptive technologies. The CECIMO MTI Award highlights that our efforts are contributing to the shaping of Europe’s digital future in the machine tool industry, ensuring it remains a global leader in precision, innovation, and technological excellence.
We participated in the MTI Awards to present ourselves as an institute of applied research and show that we develop innovative technologies for the machine tool industry based on creative, new ideas and transfer them into industrial practice. Besides customised solutions for use cases, Fraunhofer IWU also develops smart systems with a broader range of applications like the energy-autonomous, sensor-integrated toolholder “smart TOOL”, which was chosen as a finalist project for the MTI Awards. This participation was a great way to value the contributions of all colleagues working on this project and, of course, motivate them to continue pursuing new and innovative ideas for the future of the machine tool industry. In addition, during the final event we were able to connect with many professionals from renowned companies across Europe and exchange experiences on current trends and challenges in the field of production.
As a finalist in the MTI Awards, TRUMPF’s participation not only underscores the transformative impact of Remote Operations for Equipment as a Service (EaaS), but also provides us with visibility and networking opportunities, allowing us to connect with industry peers and showcase our innovative solutions, further solidifying our position as leaders in driving manufacturing efficiency and competitiveness.
For the first time, metal additive manufacturing is entering mass production globally, and Prima Additive is honoured to mark this milestone by participating in the CECIMO MTI Awards. Our submission – a robotic solution for the Rapid Coating of brake discs using high-speed laser cladding – meets rigorous durability and environmental standards, aligning with Euro 7 regulations set for 2026. Developed by Prima Additive, Comau, and Siemens, our solution boosts productivity with advanced laser technologies. The first six-system coating line, installed at Stellantis, processes each disc in about 60 seconds with 95% efficiency. It’s energy-efficient, reuses metal powders, and is reliable for industrial settings like foundries. The MTI Awards offer a platform to showcase these innovations and connect with industry leaders for sustainable, high-performance manufacturing.
AdaptX is delighted to be a finalist for the prestigious MTI Award 2024, recognising our commitment to revolutionising cooling technology in the machine tool industry. Our closed-loop cooling system addresses the critical need for sustainable solutions by eliminating reliance on traditional flood and oil-based coolant systems. With a highly efficient, low-maintenance fluid sealed within the system, AdaptX enables completely dry machining, significantly reducing environmental impact and extending tool life.
Our participation in the MTI Award highlights the crucial role of innovation in creating a more sustainable and resource-efficient manufacturing sector. For AdaptX, this award represents a chance to connect with industry leaders, potential collaborators and customers who share our vision of a sustainable future in manufacturing. Winning would reinforce our mission to push the boundaries of green technology in machining, inspiring wider industry adoption and setting new standards in sustainability.
The Machine Tools Innovation (MTI) Awards offer an excellent platform for ValCUN to showcase our unique approach to metal Additive Manufacturing. ValCUN’s Molten Metal Deposition (MMD) technology tackles some of the industry’s key challenges—ensuring cost-effective additive manufacturing, material legacy, and promoting sustainability.
Our participation in the MTI Awards reflects our dedication to these goals, demonstrating how ValCUN’s technology can reduce energy consumption, broaden material choices—such as aluminium and high-performance alloys—and support more sustainable manufacturing practices overall. MTI Awards recognition would elevate ValCUN’s profile in Europe, connecting us with partners who value sustainable, innovative solutions and share our vision for the future of manufacturing.
MTI Awards 2025
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