John Ladbury showroom at Welham Green, Hertfordshire
John Ladbury and Company has specialised in handbuilt fitted kitchens since 1978. Quality, design and attention to detail are a top priority to this small, highly productive company, priding itself on the quality of both its furniture and its service. Working from agreed design drawings and using the customer's choice of wood, the skilled craftsmen build the furniture at the Hertfordshire workshop using a combination of traditional skills and hi-tech machinery.
In 2010, director Steve Ladbury invested in a new Kündig Premium 2 1100 RP sander, purchased from Essex-based agent, A12 Machinery. The previous sander had given good service over the course of 20 years, but had reached the end of its life; so Steve began to investigate the market, hoping to improve on the facilities that the company's existing sander could offer.
Steve and his colleagues investigated the market carefully. "We went to a Woodmex exhibition – now Working With Wood series of exhibitions – and saw [the Kündig sander] being demonstrated, so it was already in the back of my mind as a possible replacement,” says Steve.
“We took our time looking at other machines but kept on coming back to the Kündig and to A12 Machinery. We were impressed by the machine's durability and ease of use.”
And the new Kündig Premium has brought John Ladbury and Company a number of advantages: "One man can do the job simply and safely because of the automatic feeding system," reports Steve, "so the sander saves us time and manpower. It is easy to adjust the thickness and the instructions are clear and easy. The quality of the finish is excellent."
The Kündig Premium range of wide-belt sanders are specially designed for work with solid wood, panels and veneers, with options available for lacquer sanding. Available with one to three sanding heads and in standard working widths of 650, 1,100, 1,350 and 1,600 mm, all the machines have a fixed working height – it is the sanding group that rises or lowers by 3-200 mm, not the workpiece. Steve Ladbury selected a two-head machine wita working width of 1,100 mm.
Machines are available with a choice of cutterblock, combi, calibrating roller, standard pad and electronic segmental pads. Steve selected a machine with a roller and pad combination.
All new machines now incorporate the 'Eco' energy saving mode, ensuring that power is not wasted when the machine is not in use. All the latest models combine colour touchscreens with manual control units: work processes used frequently can be stored and recalled easily, while at the same time three ergonomically-arranged operating buttons allow a series of manual adjustments without the need to work through a menu: adjust the infinitely variable feed speed, stop and release the feed, infinitely adjust the stock removal, infinitely adjust the machine's opening and automatically store the actual setting.
The Enormatic 'smartset' is also standard on all machines for ease of setting and registering the highest point across the full working width.
“It's a very easy machine to set up and use," says Steve Ladbury, “the quality of the finish is excellent." He continues, "We make bespoke kitchens and use the Kündig in every sanding application to do with the production of our hand-made furniture." As well as kitchens, this includes studies, bedrooms, libraries and hi-tech home offices.
Since the company was founded in 1978 by John Ladbury, quality design and an attention to detail have been key to its success. The family firm prides itself in designing, building and installing quality furniture, on time and within budget, and for this purpose only the highest quality machinery will do. Kündig fits well within the company's profile.
Asked if he would recommend the Kündig sander to others, Steve Ladbury replied, "Absolutely".
Tel 0845 833 0565
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