Wood worker invests in machining centres

A GBP 200,000 investment in two CNC wood working machining centres is intended to increase a joining plant's turnover to secure the future of the existing workforce.

UK staircase specialist Riverside Joinery has invested GBP 200,000 in two Masterwood CNC machining centres, including the latest Project 5 five-axis model.

They are delivering a significant increase in output and quality following the switch from traditional manufacturing methods.

As well as bespoke staircases the Norwich company makes made-to-measure windows, conservatories, doors and door sets and general joinery.

In 2002 a management buyout was led by the current managing director, Jonathan King, who joined the company straight from school as trainee estimator.

He has presided over a rapid programme of modernisation and expansion.

Two local joinery companies have been acquired and in 2005 the business expanded into an adjacent building, giving it an additional 22,000ft2 of floor space.

Riverside Joinery serves customers throughout Norfolk and Suffolk, mainly upmarket property developers plus small building contractors.

With the increased production achieved with the two CNC machines, this year it expects to post a turnover in excess of GBP 2 million for the first time.

Along with the investment in the two Masterwood machines it has also spent GBP 120,000 on a new dust extraction and factory heating system that utilises its wood waste.

It has had a Masterwood Teknomat for 11 years, used for shaped work on open tread staircases and general joinery components.

Everything else was done traditionally.

Its new Masterwood Project 415L and Project 5 now produce all of the staircase components; the newels, strings and treads, with bull nose treads now made to order, which was not viable before.

The traditional machines have been mothballed and the Teknomat now concentrates on door sets and general joinery.

The Project 415L produces all the components for staircases with standard specifications.

"We bought it first to get us up to speed quickly on current CNC operation," said King.

"It's a well proven machine that does an excellent job and offers good value for money".

Once Riverside had gained confidence in using the 3-axis machine it was soon joined by the Project 5.

It has the advantage of a Z height of 350mm, allowing it to machine large newel posts up to 200mm thick, and features the optional Masterwood automatic table system.

The unique system cuts down significantly on setting-up times by arranging for the automatic and optimum positioning and re-positioning of clamps on the machine's bed.

Once the operator has loaded all the pieces, all processes, including cutting, moulding, milling, profiling, boring and tenoning, take place in a single cycle with no further manual handling needed.

"We needed a five-axis machine so we could do more curved work on staircases with the accuracy provided by a CNC," said King.

"I chose the automatic table because of its ability to slash set-up times".

Previously each staircase was set out manually by two men.

Now one man does the CNC programming that produces the cutting list and operates the machine.

Said King: "We are currently making around 30 staircases a week using both machines, compared with between 15 to 20 staircases a week the traditional way, and expect to double this figure in the next few months as we become more proficient in their use".

He added: "As well as greater output they deliver consistent accuracy and quality.

With the best intention in the world we suffered from the occasional human error.

It's now so quick and easy to call up the cutting sheet from the memory and produce a 100% accurate replacement piece for a job".

Riverside has received positive feedback from customers since switching to full CNC operation, with site carpenters praising the way the stair components always fit together correctly first time with no need for final adjustments.

The latest CNCs are also used to produce wooden components for sister company Norwich Fireplace Centre, including mantle tops and mantle surrounds.

The Project 5 also makes the templates needed for shaped granite worktops and sink cut-outs produced on a profile cutting machine.

All three machines feature Masterwood's Masterworks software, with Masterwood upgrading the software on the Teknomat from the old DOS system.

For added efficiency each machine is linked to a central computer hub in the production office.

"I wanted to increase the turnover of the business to secure the future of the existing workforce without a dramatic increase in labour," said KIng "Although we were profitable I could see this changing if we retained labour intensive methods, and I also wanted to remove human error.

We were losing out on jobs, not because of any quality issues but because of our lead times.

Now we have the two new Masterwood machines we can be much more responsive to customer needs.

We can also compete more and start selling to high volume house builders, where price is such a crucial issue." He said there were advantages in going for machine standardisation, with just one service department to deal with in the event of any problems.

It was a bold move to make such a massive investment, but Riverside is on the right track and beginning to see a return on its capital.

"We want other joineries to catch up with us, not the other way round.

I am investing in the long-term future of the company," said King.

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