Haas Automation, Inc is an American
machine tool
A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, Boring (manufacturing), boring, grinding (abrasive cutting), grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some s ...
builder headquartered in
Oxnard, California
Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California, United States. On California's Central Coast (California), Central Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the List of largest California cities by populati ...
. The company designs and manufactures lower cost machine tools and specialized accessory tooling, mostly
computer numerically controlled (CNC) equipment, such as
vertical machining centers and horizontal machining centers,
lathes/turning centers, and
rotary table
A rotary table is a precision work positioning device used in metalworking. It enables the operator to drill or cut work at exact intervals around a fixed (usually horizontal or vertical) axis. Some rotary tables allow the use of index plates ...
s and
indexers. Most of its products are manufactured at the company's main facility in Oxnard.
The company is also involved in motorsports: it owns the
Haas F1 Team
Haas Formula LLC, competing as MoneyGram Haas F1 Team, is an List of Formula One constructors#Team's nationality, American-licensed Formula One racing team established by NASCAR Cup Series team owner Gene Haas in April 2014. The team made its ...
and the
Haas Factory Team
Haas Factory Team (HFT) is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is owned by Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. It made its debut in 2025, following the c ...
in
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
, and was formerly a co-owner of NASCAR team
Stewart-Haas Racing.
Haas is one of the largest machine tool builders in the world by total unit volume.
History
Gene Haas
Gene Francis Haas (born November 12, 1952) is the American founder, president, and sole stockholder of Haas Automation, a CNC machine tool manufacturer. He also has founded the NASCAR teams Haas CNC Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing and Haas Fact ...
founded Haas Automation in 1983 in
Sun Valley, California, to manufacture
machine tool
A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, Boring (manufacturing), boring, grinding (abrasive cutting), grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some s ...
accessory tooling and
rotary table
A rotary table is a precision work positioning device used in metalworking. It enables the operator to drill or cut work at exact intervals around a fixed (usually horizontal or vertical) axis. Some rotary tables allow the use of index plates ...
s.
The company entered the machine tool industry with the first fully automatic, programmable collet indexer. Over the next four years, the company expanded its product line to include fully programmable rotary tables, rotary indexers, and other machine tool accessories.
In 1987, Haas Automation began developing its first vertical machining center (VMC), the VF-1, a machine designed to perform operations such as milling, drilling, tapping, and boring. The first VF-1 prototypes were completed in 1988, and introduced at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS '88) in
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. The company moved to larger facilities in
Chatsworth, Los Angeles
Chatsworth is a suburban neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley. The area around the town was home to Native Americans, who left caves containing rock art. Chatsworth was explored and colonized by the Spanish Empire ...
, in 1991, but Haas was dissatisfied with the local government and the building permit process. In 1997, Haas moved to a purpose-built facility on in
Oxnard
Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California, United States. On California's Central Coast (California), Central Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the List of largest California cities by populati ...
.
In 2019, Haas purchased of land in
Henderson, Nevada
Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the List of cities in Nevada, 2nd most populous city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with 317,610 residents. The city is part of the Las Vegas V ...
, for $27.4 million to expand its business, planning to build 4.3 million square feet of commercial space with 2.3 million square feet intended for a $327 million manufacturing facility
During the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, Haas Automation was accused by the Economic Security Council of Ukraine in March 2023 of violating
United States sanctions
United States government sanctions are financial and trade restrictions imposed against individuals, entities, and jurisdictions whose actions contradict U.S. foreign policy or national security goals. Financial sanctions are primarily administ ...
by supplying the Russian arms industry with CNC machines via Abamet Management, which distributes parts in Russia and Belarus and with whom Haas severed ties in March 2022.
The company denied the allegations and asserted it had departed Russia prior to the invasion, while remaining Haas equipment were taken over by an independent distributor. In August, a follow-up investigation by the ESCU suggested Haas was still indirectly providing resources to the Russian military through Suzhou Sup Bestech Machine Tools Co, a Chinese liaison that was founded two weeks after Haas formally ended operations in Russia.
Haas was fined $1.04 million by the
United States Treasury Department
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current U.S. government departments.
The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and ...
's
Office of Foreign Assets Control
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the United States Department of the Treasury, United States Treasury Department. It administers and enforces economic and trade economic sanctions, ...
in January 2025 for "21 apparent violations of sanctions related to the defense and energy sectors of the Russian Federation
economy."
Products

The company manufactures several lines of
CNC machine tools for the
metalworking
Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term, it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on e ...
industry.
Vertical Mills
VF Series
VF series mills are a range of 3-axis vertical machining centers, which can be outfitted with 4th and 5th axis drives if so configured. These mills are available in different sizes, ranging from VF-1 to VF-14.
The VF in the name stands for "Very First" as the first machine Haas produced was the VF-1 ("Very First One"). One of these machines was restored by an employee, gifted to Gene Haas, and now resides in Haas's demo room in Oxnard, CA.
Universal Machines (UMC)
Haas universal machining centers (known as UMC) are 5-axis bridge-type vertical machines. They were first introduced in 2015.
Mini Mill
The mini mill was introduced as a small footprint alternative to the VF series mills, featuring a smaller casting while still maintaining a 40 taper spindle.
Toolroom Mills (TM)
The TM series was first introduced as essentially a "CNC-capable toolroom mill”. Originally, these mills did not feature an enclosure, but have since been outfitted with an enclosure that encompasses the bottom and sides of the machine. These machines are characterized by a smaller casting and slower rapids, as they are targeted towards customers who do not require production capabilities.
Drill/Tap/Mill Series (DT / DM)
The Haas DT series was originally introduced as a 30 taper high-speed machine, ideal for operations where high speed and small footprint are required, but the ability to handle large axial cutting loads is not needed. Eventually, the DM series was introduced as a 40 taper variant of the DT machine, but does not offer the 20,000 RPM spindle option.
Compact Mill
The CM is focused on machining small parts where high accuracy is required. The CM is a 20 taper machine, with spindles from 30,000 to 50,000 RPM. Haas only offers one machine in this series, the CM-1.
Gantry Series (GM / GR)
Gantry Series mills feature a static bed, a bridge that moves along the Y axis, and a head that moves along the X axis. The two primary use cases for GM series machines are large molds. GM series machines feature a more substantial casting with improved chip management as opposed to the GR series. The GM-2-5AX is also available, which is simply a GM-2 featuring two extra axes affixed to the head.
Other Machines
* VM Series machines feature a grid-style table capable of handling more weight than a comparable VF machine.
* VR Series machines are based on the VF series, but include a special head to allow A and B axis capabilities. VR machines are able to machine larger parts than would be possible on a VF machine outfitted with a 5th axis trunnion, as the head is able to span the entire X and Y axis travel, rather than being constrained by the smaller work envelope of a trunnion.
* VMT (Vertical Mill Turn) series mills feature an HSK-T/A63 spindle and are capable of performing both milling and turning operations.
* The VC-400 machine is a pallet-changing vertical mill, based on the design of the EC-400 horizontal mill with a 90 degree head.
Certifications
Haas Automation is an
ISO 9001
The ISO 9000 family is a set of international standards for quality management systems. It was developed in March 1987 by International Organization for Standardization. The goal of these standards is to help organizations ensure that they meet ...
certified company. All machine tools carry the ETL Listed mark, certifying that they conform to the NFPA 79 electrical standard for industrial machinery and the Canadian equivalent, CAN/CSA C22.2 No. 73. The company is also entitled to affix the
CE mark
The presence of the logo on Product (business), commercial products indicates that the Manufacturing, manufacturer or importer affirms the goods' conformity with European Environment, health and safety, health, safety, and environmental prote ...
to its products.
HAAS Certification Program
HAAS Certification Program was created to provide basic fundamental knowledge required to start CNC machining. It is a two part program for both Mills and Lathes. The first part of the program is an online portion consisting of both videos and quizzes that help users learn and test their knowledge on the machine type they are trying to be certified for. The mill exam consists of sixteen learning videos and quizzes over the course of eleven chapters.
Chapter one goes over the basic understanding of machine tools and use. Chapter two goes over the basic machine safety. Chapter three goes over basic machine start-up. Chapter four goes over the correct way to load and unload parts. Chapter five goes over how to run a simple program. Chapter seven goes over the basic reading of blueprints and shop routers. Chapter eight goes over how to use measuring tools. Chapter nine goes over Basic math behind measuring and tool sizes. Chapter ten introduces mill cutting tools and common work piece materials. Chapter eleven goes over the basic understanding of how to maintain HAAS machines. The Lathe machine exam covers the same material concepts as the mill.
After taking the mill and or lathe exam the user would be able to register for a practical in-person exam. This exam tests the user on everything covered in the online portion and sees how the user can perform hands on. The practical exam may cost a nominal fee at the testing facilities discretion. Usually a fee of around one-hundred and fifty dollars is charged. Once the user passes both the online, and practical exam the user will be HAAS certified. The certification is to prove understanding of HAAS machinery and in certain colleges such as Western Carolina University is used for evaluation of Safety.
Sales
Products are distributed worldwide through a network of independently owned
franchised local "factory outlet" businesses that provide sales, service, and applications support for Haas machine tools. Introduced in 1999, with the first outlet established in
Torrance, California
Torrance is a coastal city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the metropolitan ...
, it was applied to the company's existing worldwide network, and then expanded to
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
.
See also
*
WindShear
References
{{reflist
Companies based in Oxnard, California
Machine tool builders
Companies established in 1983