DWB Timber Engineering is a national group with facilities across the UK, including designated design and fabrication plants. Founded in 1986 the company has built an enviable reputation for high quality roof trusses. We visited Phil Daniels and his team in East Yorkshire, a year on from investing in a Salvador SuperPush 200 automatic crosscut saw from sole UK suppliers Daltons Wadkin.
Many businesses in the construction and industrial sectors have adapted to keep up with the unprecedented demand bought on by the pandemic. Timber Trade Federation UK reported a 13-year high for timber imports in November 2020, reaching a volume of 1.08 million m3. DWB had already highlighted the need to replace slow and aged machinery with a cutting-edge ‘smart’ machine to streamline their production, and machinery experts Daltons Wadkin was able to offer Covid-safe demonstrations and advice.
Speed, accuracy, safety, and saving waste were top of the list when looking for a new saw. Luke Laybourne, seasoned crosscut operator of 17 years at DWB, explained that the old saw was just too slow: “David Bell and Phil Daniels went down to an existing Salvador customer and they said straight away, that’s the saw for us.”
Speed and accuracy of the Salvador SuperPush 200 is ensured with a heavy-duty infeed table, angled at 30 degrees to keep the working material continually squared against the rear fence. The high-speed pusher can operate at up to 60m/min and can be regulated within each cutting list.
Luke enthused: “Where a job used to take four days, we can do it in two. I’d say we’re cutting over 100% more.” The entire saw and pusher infeed are one single piece, resulting in an impressive accuracy of up to +/- 0.1mm.
Luke explained how the Salvador’s optimising algorithm ‘makes the job a lot easier’ by working out the best yield from the timber, resulting in minimum wastage. The Salvador has reduced waste from 800mm per block to just 50mm for DWB: “We’ve got someone who comes in for firewood and he’s said ‘now you’ve got that new saw I’m not getting any waste’ – we always make a joke about it.”
Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of the saw for Luke was the safety, and ease of use for the operator. “Your hands are nowhere near the blade, not once have I ever felt unsafe,” he explained. DWB is already looking ahead to streamline its other plants, starting with its Anglia branch who visited Luke for a demonstration on the Salvador. “They felt like they picked it up straight away with just me explaining it… I just gave them my honest opinion of the saw… the answer was yes.”
The future for DWB looks exciting, and a forward-thinking approach has proved successful with a 100% increase in production.
Daltons Wadkin look forward to continuing to work with DWB Timber Engineering, as the company continues to innovate its nationwide facilities with smart machinery.
For further information on automatic machinery, including the Salvador range, visit the Daltons Wadkin website.
0115 986 5201
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www.daltonswadkin.com
