Investment at Formby Plywood and Door Warehouse

Just 18 months ago, Formby Plywood and Door Warehouse set up their own comprehensively equipped joinery manufacturing facility to cater for the bespoke production of windows and doors.

The machines purchased were predominently from long established Leeds based manufacturer M.Sedgwick and Co with purchases including a Chisel Mortiser, 3 head tenoner, Spindle Moulder, Sawbench with 450mm blade for deep cutting and large sliding table for panel sizing and a combined planing and thicknessing machine.

Complimenting these machines were a large capacity cross cut saw,mitre guillotine, under pinner and dust extraction

Within this relatively short time the demand for quality bespoke windows and doors naturally resulted in an increased demand for productivity within the working environment.

Having been approached to study ways of increasing the production needed to meet this increasing demand, it was quite apparent that the one area which had outgrown the existing facility was on the planing and final sizing joinery components.

The current methods employed were the use of a single combined planing and thicknessing machine which although being of very robust construction,was resulting in one of the machinist spending a large part of the working day tied to the one machine processing the timber ready for use.

The natural recommendation for investment was in the provision of a 4 sided planing machine, which once again the choice had to suit the customer in terms of production values and of course the level of investment required

Having assessed what was needed from the machine, a proposal was made for the provision of a 4 sided planing machine which could work with a maximum timber section of 230 x 130mm, would be user friendly,easy and flexible to set up and have the capability to mould and rebate on the side heads.

The machine also had to be compact and as part of the proposal,the provision for a large capacity dust extraction unit capable of taking the waste from all 4 cutterheads was also made along with the delivery of the machines, installation of the 4 sided planer/moulder and installation of the dust extractor and ducting to be carried out at a mutually agreed time to minimise the disruption within this busy working environment.