With more machinery still planned and ambitions to double production, Derby-based fire door manufacturer Michael Pepper Joinery needed an extraction system with capacity to match. Extractly designed it with the next stage already in mind.
Under Managing Director Josh Pepper, Michael Pepper Joinery has grown from around 14 staff to about 40 and now produces circa 160 doors a week. The business had outgrown its former factory, and dust extraction was one of the critical systems that had to be right before production could begin at the new site.
“If you have an issue with a machine, or a machine breaks down, you can focus on getting that machine fixed. If you have an issue with your extraction, you literally lose the vast majority of the factory and manufacturing capabilities.”
The old system was fit for purpose for the machines it served, but years of additions had taken it to capacity. With a second CNC planned, the new extraction needed capacity not only for the machinery going in, but for machinery still to come.
For Josh, that meant looking beyond what the factory needed on day one. “The temptation could be to underinvest in this, and then effectively have an extraction system that works, but then you fit your additional machine, and then all of a sudden you’ve compromised the whole system,” he says.
Planning ahead
Josh approached several extraction companies, with Extractly standing out for its responsiveness and for explaining not only what he needed but why.
“I didn’t feel blinded by science with it, because if you start looking into extraction systems, you start to realise that actually it’s not just as simple as a fan and a pipe that pulls the dust off.”
Extractly’s design was a centralised system, with ductwork to the CNC machines, beam saw, edgebander, sanders, spindle moulders and other machinery. The ducting for the second CNC was in place before the machine itself arrived.
The filter unit sits outside the building, drawn by a 37kW inverter-driven fan mounted on the clean side of the filters, so dust reaches them without passing through the fan. The fan position was a deliberate choice. “Your initial investment is a little bit higher, but the energy efficiency of that type of fan is greatly improved.”
“I didn’t feel blinded by science with it, because if you start looking into extraction systems, you start to realise that actually it’s not just as simple as a fan and a pipe that pulls the dust off”
Ready to move
Installation began in an empty building, but Josh wanted the system operating before the old factory switched off. Any gap between the two meant lost production.
“I always said to Extractly that I need to hear this fan running before I give the green light to move my factory.”
Like any large installation, there were issues to manage along the way. When parts were held up in supply, Extractly kept Josh informed and worked around the problem to protect the completion date. A motor that failed was replaced the same day.
“My worry would be another company might just push the end goal back. Extractly recognised the problem but always assured me that we’d be able to meet the original target that I’d set with them, and we did.”
Adapting on-site
Machines rarely end up exactly where the drawing put them, and as the layout settled, ductwork had to move with it. “They didn’t fall back onto, well, our initial agreement is a pipe here, and if it moves, there’s going to be lots of extra costs. Extractly just worked with me and made it all come together, which was a real relief for me.”
That approach extended to work outside the original scope, including ducting for a machine bought at short notice and a spray machine. “They just gave me a price and cracked on with it, and did a good job.”
For Josh, it comes down to a straightforward test: “Do you have confidence in the company behind who’s installing it for you, and if there are any issues, will they sort them out?”
Built for growth
The new system is, in Josh’s words, “much better in every way”. Velocities are higher at the machines, there is less noise in the workshop, and the controls are simple enough that everyone on the floor understands them. With more of the waste going straight into the ductwork and sweeping points fitted by Extractly, operators spend less time cleaning around their machines.
A transport loop carries waste into an external container, and a trailer change function pauses the transfer for twenty minutes while the main fan keeps running — long enough to swap it without stopping production. In practice it takes under ten minutes.
With more machinery still planned, the extraction was specified to accommodate further growth. “I’m confident that the machinery and infrastructure that we’ve got is really able to handle much higher volume than it could before.”
There is more to come. Ecogate, an automated on-demand control system, was deliberately left off the initial specification. It opens gates only at the machines in use and adjusts fan speed to match demand, typically reducing extraction energy use by over half. Josh intends to work with Extractly to implement it over the coming months.
Asked what advice he would give other manufacturers, Josh points to the importance of the company behind the system.
“To have an extraction company that will work with your company’s best interests at heart, whether that’s a quick response needed for a maintenance issue, an upgrade to the system to support new machinery. That’s the key part I would think to look at for your supplier.”
