J & C O’Meara was established in 1990 by father and son team, Joseph and Carl, who had spent many years as service and installation engineers to the woodworking industry. This new formation was a natural progression and, for the first few years, the service was the mainstay of the business – followed by the purchasing and refurbishing of used machinery, and then the supply of new machinery.
“Being an independent company and having the experience of a service background gives us the freedom to choose which companies we wish to work with, and to use our experience to make sure the products we adopt fulfil both our and our customers’ requirements,” explains Carl. “Qualifying products always need to conform to a set criteria in terms of build, specification, and of course the people behind the product.
“In 2007 we launched our own range of sliding table panel saws marketed under the Genisis brand, which became an immediate success for those looking for a high-quality alternative to the premium brands. This led to the introduction of further machines to the Genisis range, to include the popular range of edgebanding machines.
“Over the last 31 years, the company has always listened to what is required from their customers and have always taken the stance that if we have a suitable product to assist, then we will make an offer – if we don’t, then we will usually give a recommendation.
“We are not a traditional sales-orientated company, rather a family-orientated company which offers good, honest advice, and a business which enjoys the benefits of loyal, longstanding customers and recommendations by them.
“Today, the company has steadily evolved to encompass a complete range of CNC machines manufactured by the AES Group. Typically, before entering into an agreement to represent and introduce the AES products into the UK, we visited their factory in Bursa to see how the machines were produced, from the raw steel to the final product. We looked at the stage-by-stage production to learn and give us a true feel for the machines,” says Carl.
“We also spent time with the people at AES to get to know how they worked and how they responded, and to see if we could work with them over the long term. This was back in 2016, and today, with multiple installations throughout the UK, AES can easily be seen as not only a premium quality alternative to any of the other brands, but, as more than one of AES’ UK customers have described them, as ‘a performance bargain’.
“For those not familiar with the AES brand, where some companies turn to value engineering, AES still produces its machinery without compromise. This can easily be seen in the weight of the machines, as all steelwork used on the frame is oversized, allowing linear positioning speeds of up to 90m/min.
“This strength of construction, coupled with the use of only the highest-quality branded parts such as HSD and Hiteco router heads, HSD drill boxes, Becker vacuum pumps, THK linear guides and bearings, Yaskawa drives, etc, result in one heavy-duty, high-quality, accurate machine, built to give many years’ trouble-free service. AES use Alphacam as their preferred CAD/CAM solution which, being machine-neutral, means customers are not tied into a particular manufacturer’s home-grown software.
“As part of our service pack for the AES machines, J & C O’Meara provides pre-delivery training so a customer is ready for delivery and is not bombarded with too much information on the day.
“We also always have the manufacturer carry out the installation, so every machine is installed, commissioned and fully calibrated from day one. With AES we are offering a unique long-term service pack which includes free lifetime remote technical support for all their machines, along with fixed-price servicing. We believe owning a CNC should be fully supported and should also be a long-term, cost-effective investment,” says Carl.
“Recent installations have been wide and varied, showing just how diverse the AES range is, and have included the CNC drilling machines and CNC nesting machines – some being ‘standalone’, some being throughfeed, and some being for combined joinery and nesting. There have also been a number of pod-and-rail-style door processing machines installed, being equipped with a dedicated horizontal router head for the fast and accurate machining of locks and hinges.
“Having had one of our busiest years despite the pandemic, we have seen an increase in both sales and enquiries for the AES machines, where it appears a lot more manufacturers are looking more towards automation, and of course we invite anyone to talk to us to see if we can assist.
“In other news, we will shortly be opening a new facility, where we will have on display a greater range of CNC machinery, as well as our traditional ranges of machinery.
“For further information about our products and services, call 01704 893109 or refer to the website,” concludes Carl.
