Liechti & Co. of Langnau near Bern, in Switzerland, concentrated not on ordinary geared-head lathes but a subgroup of the production and horizontal turret type. The turret versions were available with the capstan head arranged either in the conventional 'horizontally' way or the more unusual vertical type as also used, for example, by the German Pittler Company.
The term 'Production' used about a lathe does not have a clear-cut meaning though it is, of course, applied to the common capstan and turret kind. In another sense it also applies to what, at first glance, appear to be ordinary industrial-class backgeared and screwcutting lathes but are not. These machines, upon closer examination, lack nearly all the facilities needed for more general work and have in common several facts: they often cannot generate threads (there is no leadscrew) are of a generally simple specification - and less expensive. However, in their basic construction they often differ little from "engine" types (as they are known in the USA) and sometimes just taken from a maker's ordinary range but either denuded of unnecessary equipment or even specially kitted out like, fir example, this Sebastian. Others, however, were specially designed and of extra-heavy construction to stand abuse at the hands of unskilled operator--like those from Liechti, Hogarth, Eugen Weisser, Müller & Söhne--these having the usual limited range of spindle and power-shaft driven feed rates suitable for repetitive but simple jobs. Even so, very much more sophisticated examples can be found, including the Porter-Cable Carbo from the USA and Italian Fimap. The Fimac "TP 22A-T" was especially advanced, having hydraulic trip stops on both longitudinal and cross feeds, automatic sequencing and electro-hydraulic or standard hydraulic drive. The maker also offered copying attachments together with air-operated chucks and the option of a hydraulically-operated tailstock.
Other types have been found with a special job in mind, for example the extra-fine finishing of components, the German Magdeburg being one such type.
Going back to the 1800s, even then makers such as Stehman, Jenks & Stehman were offering ultra simple, inexpensive machines intended for the most basic kind of job. It was also not unusual to find later high-class "bench precision" lathes set up in the same manner, examples being one from an unknown maker, several from the enormously wide range offered by Leinen and also from a few of the well-known American makers of bench precision types where an extra-wide, two-step pulley on the headstock was used in place of the normal three or four-step.