cnx_vinyl/docs/suppliers/vendor-landscape.md

# Vendor Landscape

Research on candidate vendors for the production chain beyond the Newbilt
pressing line (from vendor sites and trade press; capabilities are claims
until quotes and visits verify them). Pricing is unpublished almost across
the board, the Sillitoe lathe being the one exception: everything else is
a quote-on-request conversation.

The tabular needs-and-suppliers map lives in
[`equipment-suppliers.md`](equipment-suppliers.md); this document is the
narrative per vendor.

## Mastering and cutting: Agnew Analog (Greece)

[Agnew Analog Reference Instruments](https://agnewanalog.com/) builds the
**Type 612 disk mastering lathe** (unveiled 2023, billed in the trade press
as the first all-new lacquer cutting lathe since the mid-1960s) and the
companion Type 602 stereo cutter head, sold turnkey or as components. Bespoke,
low-volume manufacturing by J. I. Agnew, so expect long build times. The
lathe is only the platform: a working cutting room additionally needs cutter
amplifiers, a mastering console, a preview/pitch-automation solution, vacuum
and swarf handling, plus lacquer blanks and styli as consumables.

## Mastering and cutting: Sillitoe Audio Technology (Australia)

[Sillitoe Audio Technology](https://www.sillitoeaudiotechnology.com/)
builds the **Sillitoe Disk Mastering System (SDMS)**, which is a complete
cutting system rather than a bare lathe. Per the vendor's system page and
its 2021/2022 hardware reference manual:

- **Turntable**: direct drive, 16/22/33/45 rpm, 355 mm vacuum platter
  adjustable for 7", 10", 12" and 14" disks
- **Cutterhead**: MMFB Mk3E moving-magnet feedback stereo head, helium
  cooling capability, stylus heating
- **Master Control** (19" 2RU): USB DAC (44.1 to 384 kHz), closed-loop
  analog cutting preamp, 350 W per channel cutting amplifier, VU/PPM
  metering, phono stage for playback checks
- **Space / Time Control** (19" 2RU): turntable, pitch, depth and head
  drop/lift, each switchable between manual and software control
- **QC**: groove inspection microscope at 200x and 40x with a measuring
  graticule (5 µm divisions) and a C-mount for a camera; a 12" tonearm
  for test-cut playback
- **Vacuum**: one pump for platter hold-down and chip suction, chip jar
  included
- Half-speed cutting electronics are an upgrade, not in the standard
  system

What sets it apart is the software. **Space / Time Control (STC)**,
Windows and macOS, licensed only with an SDMS, computes a "Virtual Groove"
from the audio before anything is cut, analyses it, and drives pitch,
depth and head lift automatically during the cut. The vendor's claim is
20 minutes at 94% disk capacity at +5 dB (NAB) with no capacity tests or
dry runs. Trade press describes it as the first cutting lathe with
integrated software automation. Timeless Mastering in New York (founded
by a former Sterling Sound cutting engineer) cuts on serial number 6,
which is also a fair measure of how small the install base is.

**Published price: USD 125,000** for the standard system, excluding tax
and shipping, built to order (vendor order page, October 2026). Sales
run through a contract the buyer signs first and Sillitoe countersigns at
its discretion. It is the only lathe in this landscape with a public
price.

Points for the decision:

- **It closes most of the gap the Agnew route leaves open.** Cutting
  amplifier, preview and pitch automation, vacuum and microscope are in
  the box. Still needed: the mastering console and chain, monitoring, room
  treatment, lacquer blanks and styli (Neumann SX-type styli per the
  manual).
- **It is a closed system.** The cutterhead is excluded from warranty,
  has no user-serviceable parts and works only with Sillitoe's own
  amplifier; most subsystems in the hardware manual are marked "factory
  calibrated" with instructions to leave the screws alone. Service
  depends on one small company, so spares (a second cutterhead) and
  support terms belong in the quote. Australia is one to four hours ahead
  of Thailand, which helps remote support.
- **It produces data, which the Agnew route does not.** STC exports a
  master cue sheet (artist, title, label, catalogue number, side, matrix
  number, engineer, groove diameter per track) as HTML or PDF, exports
  the groove as an **Open Groove** file (an open-source virtual-groove
  format in development), keeps a stylus-hours counter, and stores each
  project with its audio and settings. The cutting session in the
  factory application can attach these files instead of relying on
  manual entry (see [digital factory](../digital-factory.md)).
- **Lacquer and DMM.** The vendor's social posts say the newer suspension
  cuts both lacquer and DMM (direct metal mastering) on one lathe under
  software control. Unverified; worth asking, because a copper DMM master
  needs no silvering and is not on the one-to-three-day plating clock that
  a soft lacquer is.
- A used 2023 unit was advertised for resale in New York in August 2025
  (lathetrolls.com classifieds), so second-hand units exist; a used
  purchase would need the vendor's transfer and support terms in writing.

### Agnew or Sillitoe

| | Agnew Analog Type 612 | Sillitoe SDMS |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Greece | Australia |
| Scope | Lathe and Type 602 head, turnkey or as components; amplifiers, automation and console sourced around it | Complete system: lathe, cutterhead, cutting amplifier, automation software, vacuum, microscope |
| Pitch and depth automation | External preview/automation solution needed | Integrated (Space / Time Control, Virtual Groove) |
| Price | Unpublished | USD 125,000 standard system, ex tax and shipping |
| Build | Bespoke, long build times | Built to order, contract at the vendor's discretion |
| Lock-in | Component route, to be confirmed | Head and amplifier only work together |
| Data out | None (station check-in only) | Cue sheet, Open Groove export, project files, stylus hours |

Ask both for a quote and a cutting demonstration with CNX's own audio, and
compare the **whole room**, not the lathe: amplifiers, automation,
console, spares and service terms. At the Sillitoe list price the cutting
room is a smaller decision than the 290k to 580k USD line in
[total investment](../finance/total-investment.md) assumed, which makes
it, alongside galvanics, a candidate for moving earlier than Phase 5 in
the [roadmap](../roadmap.md). A second-hand route exists too:
[used lathes and cutting-room contacts](#used-lathes-and-cutting-room-contacts-via-oms).

## Lacquer cutting service: Schallplatten Schneid Technik (Germany)

[Schallplatten Schneid Technik](https://www.sst-ffm.de/) (SST, Frankfurt
am Main) is an independent cutting studio founded in 1969 by Albert
Brüggemann and run by Daniel Krieger since 2011. Per its website (checked
October 2026): two cutting rooms on last-generation Neumann systems, one
of them the last Neumann ever built; lacquers in 7", 10" and 12" for
industrial pressing and dubplates in 10" and 12", at 16⅔ to 78 rpm;
half-speed, locked-groove and inside-out cuts; mastering only as moderate
corrections in agreement with the customer. The site lists lacquer, not
DMM.

SST is already a Poy Records supplier: Daniel Krieger found in SST's
archive that it cut the lacquers for POY003, 005, 006 and 013. He met
Simona and Alexander in Haarlem, offered to help with the plant (email,
7 October 2026), and is on good terms with ResurRec's Sarit and his
mastering partner Chalotorn. What it means for the plan: a known lacquer
source for the launch phase, when cutting is bought in and stampers come
from the bridge supplier ([production timeline](../production-timeline.md)),
and a long-running cutting room to ask about Neumann-era equipment, room
design and engineer training before the Agnew or Sillitoe decision.
Lacquer travels worse than nickel (production timeline), so a Frankfurt
cut fits a European stamper service (Stamper Discs, OMS) better than
plating in Thailand.

## Used lathes and cutting-room contacts (via OMS)

Lou Wullms' introduction letter (9 October 2026, filed in
[`../equipment/oms/`](../equipment/oms/)) closes with five contacts for
buying a cutting lathe, a second-hand route next to a new Agnew or
Sillitoe. As the letter gives them (phone numbers and emails are in the
letter):

- **Railroad Studio Tracks** (Germany, between Cologne and Aachen; owned by
  John Cremers, with his son Moritz Cremer in charge): selling its
  complete cutting studio "at this very moment". The website
  (railroad-tracks.de) did not load for checking (October 2026).
- **Mike Papas**: sometimes has a cutting lathe for sale.
- **Andreas Bauer**, AB Mastering (Andreas Bauer Medientechnik,
  Tiefenbach, Germany): could help with a lathe. His site (abmastering.com,
  checked October 2026) offers lacquer cutting on a Neumann VMS-80, master
  checks, one-off dubplates, and help choosing a pressing plant with
  quality control.
- **Flo Kaufman** (flokason, Switzerland; spelling as in the letter): very
  highly respected in the cutting world and, Lou warns, always very busy.
  His site describes handcrafted audio gear.
- **Martin Sukale**, Ramona Records GmbH, Hamburg, a good friend of Flo
  Kaufman's. ramonarecords.com led to the site of Discosville, a vinyl
  pressing plant, when checked (October 2026); confirm his current company
  before writing.

What it means: a complete used studio could put a working cutting room in
place well before [roadmap](../roadmap.md) item 27, at a price still to be
asked. A used lathe still needs a head, amplifiers, service and a cutting
engineer, so compare it as a whole room, like the new systems above.

Lou also recommended three sites for finding vendors and answers:
vinyl-pressing-plants.com (directory of cutting studios, electroforming
houses, pressing plants, brokers and machine makers), cdvdpacking.com (a
dealer in used CD, DVD, vinyl and solar production machines; its
categories include mastering and galvanics, and pressing lines, checked
October 2026) and lathetrolls.com (questions on the process).

## Silvering and electroforming equipment: Plating Power / Digital Matrix (USA)

[Plating Power](https://www.platingpower.com/) is the vinyl brand of Digital
Matrix Corporation (Farmingdale, NY), the dominant turnkey vendor for vinyl
galvanics. Their line covers silvering (VLSS station), nickel pre-plate
(VLPP), production electroforming (VLFP 2/4/6-cell system), and
electro-clean/passivation (EC-1000), all built for clean-room use with fume
extraction hookups. Two gaps matter for this project: they supply **no
closed-loop water treatment or metal recovery** (a separate industrial
water-treatment vendor must deliver the zero-discharge system; the
zero-discharge plating room at Gotta Groove Records in Ohio, built around a
wastewater evaporator, is the reference model), and no stamper
punching/finishing equipment (see Sibert below). No Southeast Asia
distributor; contact is via the US factory or their Japan/Korea distributors.
Pheenix Alpha (below) now offers a competing line unit for unit; the
datasheets and the comparison are in
[galvanics and stamper prep](../equipment/galvanics.md).

## Electroforming equipment and stamper service: Optical Media Services (Netherlands)

Optical Media Services B.V. (OMS, Baarlo, established 1996) builds and
refurbishes vinyl electroforming equipment, converts CD/DVD electroforming
lines to 14" vinyl, and runs an independent stamper service from lacquers
and DMMs. Sibert's Ian Locke named it after Haarlem as the alternative to
a Pheenix turnkey line: Lou Wullms is "a long-standing industry colleague
who makes good equipment" and very familiar with the Asian market. A
directory listing points OMS's website at Newbilt's equipment page, which
announces new Newbilt electroplating equipment; whether the two are linked
is unconfirmed. Simona and Alexander met Lou Wullms in Haarlem; he wrote
on 7 October 2026 and Alexander has replied. On 9 October OMS sent an
introduction letter with reference prices: EUR 224,000 for a basic 4-cell
wet room (two 2-cell EFS2-200 units) and EUR 311,000 for an advanced one
(one 4-cell AEFS4-250 with PLC), installation and water treatment extra,
used equipment also available. For stamper finishing the letter points to
Sibert, as Sibert pointed to OMS. Details, company data and open questions
in [galvanics and stamper prep](../equipment/galvanics.md).

## Stamper preparation: Sibert Instruments (UK)

[Sibert Instruments](https://www.sibert.co.uk/) (Hampshire, in this niche
since the early 1970s) makes the machines that turn a raw electroformed
nickel shell into a press-ready stamper: the VSP center punch, VSF
back-finisher, and VSC coiner (trim and form in one pass), plus a fully
automatic VSPa punch. One-off capital equipment filling exactly the gap
between the plating line and the presses. The current technical
specifications (2022 and 2023) and a line-up drawing are in
[`../equipment/sibert/`](../equipment/sibert/): all three run on
single-phase power and 6 to 8 bar air, weigh 200, 250 and 1000 kg, stand
in a 4958 × 833 mm row, and list no data interface; centring on the punch
is manual under ×100 optics. Sibert has confirmed a budget of USD 250k for
the three, with its time, spare parts, shipping and travel extra. Figures,
mould fit and the service model are in
[galvanics and stamper prep](../equipment/galvanics.md).

## Stamper service, as a bridge: Stamper Discs (UK)

[Stamper Discs](https://www.stamperdiscs.com/) (Sheffield, founded 2018,
family-run) is a trade galvanics service: send lacquers or DMM masters, get
back press-ready 1-step or 3-step stampers in 7"/10"/12", explicitly made to
fit Viryl, Toolex, and **Newbilt** molds. They ship to 30+ countries and can
broker lacquer cutting through European partners. Natural role for CNX
Vinyl: stamper supplier while the in-house galvanics line is being built,
then overflow capacity and a quality benchmark. Watch-outs: a small
single-site operation, no documented Asia customers yet, and two
international freight legs per job.

## Fully automated presses and electroforming: Pheenix Alpha (Sweden)

[Pheenix Alpha](https://www.pheenixalpha.com/) (Solna) is the direct
successor of Toolex Alpha, founded in 2006 by former Toolex staff. Their
**AD12** is the continuation of the original 1977 fully automatic press:
24 to 26 second cycle (roughly 140 records per hour), one operator running
up to four presses, 7"/10"/12" up to 200 g, about 3.25 m² per press. Each
press has 25 kW installed electrical power and consumes per cycle roughly
1.2 kg of steam, 12.5 L of chilled water in a closed platen circuit
(compatible with the zero-discharge goal), and compressed air. Deepgrooves
in the Netherlands runs its AD12 steam from wood-fired biomass boilers, a
working precedent for the renewable-steam question. Pheenix also offers the
**AD12 Manual**, a semi-automatic press on the same platform aimed at
splatter and short runs, which made them a possible single-vendor
alternative for the earlier 50/50 fleet. Since October 2026 the current
plan is an all-Newbilt fleet ([pressing line](../equipment/pressing-line.md)),
so the AD12 is the comparison for the Newbilt Classic rather than part of
the plan.

Pheenix also builds **electroforming equipment**: an automatic silvering
unit (PASU), a four-position pre-plating unit (PPPU), a two-cell production
plating unit (PDPU, up to 200 A per cell) and a passivation and cleaning
bench (PMPB), the plating units PLC-controlled with network access (2024
flyers in [`../equipment/pheenix-alpha/`](../equipment/pheenix-alpha/),
summarised in [galvanics and stamper prep](../equipment/galvanics.md)). It
calls itself the only manufacturer of both electroforming and pressing
systems, which makes it a single-vendor candidate for the whole chain from
lacquer to record, not only for the presses. The flyers and the CEO's
email signature give the company's address as Skepptuna Borgen 299,
Märsta, north of Stockholm.

After Haarlem, CEO Robert Gunnarsson wrote that Pheenix has more than 300
presses in the field (vendor figure) and supports start-ups and capacity
expansions on automatic and manual presses and on electroforming; he
offered a Teams meeting, reference clients and a visit to the factory
with press demonstrations (email, 5 October 2026). We will call once our
questions are concrete; Simona and Alexander plan to be back in Europe
in February 2027 ([exhibitor briefing](making-vinyl-europe-2026-exhibitors.md#after-the-show)).