With 60% of its multi-million pound turnover dedicated to added value product, Brooks Bros is one of the UK’s first complete timber service providers to install Weinig’s Rondamat 1000 CNC tool grinder, raising the capabilities of its Danbury tool room to the next level. The company has also added the latest Weinig Powermat 1500 moulder with Powerlock tooling to its suite of advanced moulders at its Danbury site.
Over the last decade, Brooks Bros has installed 24 machines from Weinig at its manufacturing sites in Danbury, Sewstern, Skelmersdale and Nottingham. Managing director, Mark Fleming says: “Our customers’ demand for machined and finished timber product continues – from straightforward planing to intricate mouldings and profiles – and now with our latest investment in the Rondamat 1000 CNC for the Danbury tool room, and the new Powermat 1500, we have the ability to meet every bespoke requirement our customers might have.”
The Rondamat 1000 CNC is a fully automatic machine, driven by the lastest MoulderMaster software, without the need for an operator. Once set-up, it then runs unattended, with the MoulderMaster software negating the need for templates. Mark says: “The Rondamat 1000 is a game-changing automated grinder. Its more accurate grinding of tools means our Powermat 1500 moulders can now run up to 10% faster while still giving an excellent surface finish.”
In addition to the Rondamat 1000, Brooks Bros has invested in a new Weinig Unicut P – the latest technology in the proven optimising cross-cut saw range and ideal for heavy hardwood sections; a Raimann VarioRip optimising rip saw; a new Rondamat 960 grinder and digital Opti-Control setting stand, and the Powermat 1500 moulder with Powerlock tooling.
The Powermat 1500 is the flagship moulder of Weinig’s new generation of Powermats. Weinig’s Powerlock tooling for the Powermat 1500 enables the machine to run at higher speeds up to 12,000rpm, doubling the production throughput of a conventional moulder and shortening availability times of product for customers. Weinig’s sales representatives Steve Cracknell, Simon Bridge and Dean Grimbley have supported Brooks Bros for many years, tailoring machine requirements to the company’s needs and providing full support.
Brooks Bros has invested in Weinig products so it can respond to customers’ needs quickly with fast setting times and running speeds, which gives a particularly good finish on hardwood mouldings.
Mark Fleming says: “The dynamics have changed within the industry. Customers want machined products, often fully finished to their unique specifications and they buy from us. With the ability for short runs for small joinery firms to full scale production, we take on the responsibility of processing timber product and offer much more than just timber distribution.
“Our customers, which include the doorset industry working in healthcare, commercial and high-end apartment construction and fit-out, demand very quick service of the highest quality and accuracy. With the help of Weinig technology and machinery, Brooks Bros delivers quality of the highest standard on time, every time.”
Brooks Bros’ experienced machinists like using Weinig machines, citing their user-friendliness, ease of use and speed of setting. A major benefit of the Powermat 1500 is the ComfortSet, which makes operator settings very easy to adjust. Mark Fleming continues, “Weinig machines are the best in the world. The amount of work we put through is relentless. Our Weinig moulders process hardwood day in, day out, six days a week. The reliability of the machines and the reassurance of working with Weinig is not just nice to have; it is a necessity.”
Every Brooks Bros site has Weinig Powermat moulders specified for more intricate mouldings and challenging profiles for windows and doors: “We wonder how we managed without them.”
Brooks Bros sends its key personnel to Weinig’s advanced training centre for tool room operatives at Weinig Expo in Abingdon. The training centre caters for all Weinig’s advanced computer-controlled training needs, from PowerCom to RipAssistPro. Senior production managers from Brooks Bros will once again be visiting Weinig’s global headquarters and machine production facility at Tauberbischofsheim, near Frankfurt in Germany, later in the year.
Malcolm Cuthbertson, managing director of Weinig UK says: “With our shared ethos that ‘only the best will do’, Weinig UK has developed a strong relationship with Brooks Bros over the years and it really is a perfect partnership.
“Decades of Weinig’s wood processing experience and adoption of new technology have influenced the development of the new generation of Powermat moulders. This is an exceptional state-of-the-art machine which offers outstanding ease of use and helps maximise productivity for our customers.”
For more information on Brooks Bros, visit www.brookstimber.com.
01235 557600
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www.weinig.co.uk
