With a turnover in excess of £100m, Ultima Furniture Systems has built a reputation for designing and manufacturing high-quality kitchens that don’t cost the earth. It is proud of the fact that the frames of its wooden shaker doors are made from solid kiln-dried timbers – Ultima doesn’t use laminates. The company continually invests in the latest technology and is always looking to make improvements in its processes.
“Every cabinet we produce is manufactured to the same high standards,” explains Mark Gibson, production manager at Ultima Furniture. He continues, “It is something our founder, Alf Ellis, wouldn’t have any other way. His enduring fascination with manufacturing has been driving Ultima forward ever since the company began supplying customers in 1985.
“We’ve been a fan of HOMAG since the very early days of the business; its machinery and software are, in our opinion, simply the best. In 2022 we purchased the assets of an office furniture company that had fallen on hard times. Its woodworking equipment was very old and unreliable, so we decided to invest in some new machinery from HOMAG.
“Our aim was to buy machines that would enable us to manufacture bedroom furniture to a high standard, and at a rapid throughput. To achieve this, we were looking for an edge bander with zero-joint technology, a drilling and doweling CNC and a cabinet press.”
Reliable, high-quality machinery
“Our research led us to focus on acquiring an EDGETEQ S-500 edge bander, a DRILLTEQ H-600 CNC processing centre and a CABTEQ T-250 cabinet press. HOMAG’s area sales manager, Jon Lawman, arranged for us to visit the factory in Germany to see these machines in operation prior to placing the order.
Witnessing the manufacturing set-up in Germany first-hand not only enabled us to evaluate the machines we wanted to buy in action, but also acted as a reminder of how technically advanced HOMAG’s manufacturing capabilities are.
“One of the key benefits of the EDGETEQ S-500 is the airTec edging facility which offers zero-joint technology. In the airTec process, the edge and panel are bonded using hot air which produces a superb, almost invisible joint. The machine gives us a high level of flexibility with outstanding trimming quality.
“The DRILLTEQ H-600 impressed us with its speed and accuracy. Every drilling action is executed with extreme repeat accuracy, as are the routing and grooving operations. High throughputs are achievable because we can process two workpieces simultaneously which is a big plus for us.
“Assembling cabinets so they are square and accurately aligned is vitally important when it comes to creating first-class finished bedroom furniture. That’s why we’ve invested in the HOMAG CABTEQ T-250. It not only delivers superb assembly quality to give our furniture that special finish, but it is also quick and easy to use.”
Why we partner with HOMAG
“Downtime is very costly for us and HOMAG’s excellent aftersales support is one of the main reasons we partner with them. If there is ever an issue with a machine, more often than not their engineers are able to get us back up and running via HOMAG’s online diagnostic service.
“From our perspective, every aspect of HOMAG’s service is excellent. The team at Castle Donington are, to a person, friendly, professional and proactive. Nothing is ever too much trouble, and you can count on getting an open and honest response to any query,” concludes Gibson.
If you would like more information or a demonstration of any of the HOMAG machinery and software, please contact Adele Hunt at HOMAG UK on 01332 856424.
