Timber importer and machining specialist RTD Crawford Ltd, of Northern Ireland, is one of the leading high quality machined timber product suppliers in its field.

It has state-of-the-art equipment, including: Tanalith E and Vacsol Aqua treatment facilities; a GreCon automated finger-jointing line for long length construction timber; four automatic comprehensive Weinig high-speed planing and moulding lines with stacking, strapping, bundling and wrapping; the latest Weinig Unimat 3000 fully computer operated moulder for quick changeovers and small runs; and a tool room that would be the envy of the best manufacturers of timber components in Europe.

It has continued to invest in new hi-tech machinery and most recently has ordered another new 150m/min Weinig line, due to be installed in April.

Ronnie Crawford, owner and managing director, started from humble beginnings. He admits to having a fair share of good luck, but it was his entrepreneurial flair, nose for business and his love of timber that propelled him to become the largest supplier of timber products in Ireland.

His first real business opportunity was in 1975 when a local timber merchant wanted to clear his yard of offcuts. Ronnie took them all, free of charge, cleaned and machined it to various profiles, and sold it back to the timber merchant. This was the start of his small business and he took on his first employee – who, incidentally, still works for him.

In 1978 he bought his first Weinig moulder. ‘I could immediately see the benefits of four machining operations in one pass,’ said Mr Crawford. After that purchase, the business steadily grew and the Weinig moulder’s performance left a lasting impression.

Today, RTD Crawford has two factories – at Lisbellaw, Co Fermanagh and a new dock site factory in Belfast, totalling eight acres. The Lisbellaw factory manufactures planed-all-round and profiles timber components in a wide variety of soft and hardwoods, to any specification required by customers. General manager Robert Allen said: ‘Quality finish is paramount. No job is too big or too small and products are supplied bundled, wrapped and with customised labelling if needed.

‘Special profiles are no problem, as we have the technology,’ he added. ‘A four-day service is available on standard items and one week on bespoke profiles.’

Weinig equipment

Virtually all the key production equipment installed at Lisbellaw is from Weinig. There are four automatic planing and moulding lines, one of which was installed only last year; a total of six heavy duty moulders – one has 300mm (12in) wide capacity and operates at speeds up to 120m/min; and the lines have facilities for stacking, bundling, strapping, wrapping and labelling.

The Weinig moulders in the mechanised lines are engineered for quick setting up and achieving a high quality surface finish. Three of the moulders are fitted with CAS-LogoCom (computer controlled setting facilities) for fast provision of setting up data, direct from the tool room.

The tool room is one of the best equipped in the UK. It comprises straight and profile grinding machines – two of which are automatic straight knife grinders and three are profile grinders. Also in the tool room is the state-of-the-art computerised tool measuring system, CAS-LogoCom. It measures and stores all tooling profiles and dimensions, raw material sizes, timber species, moisture content and relevant customer information, and feeds this to the moulders in the factory – making setting up of customer orders fast and easily repeatable. This single machine can serve several moulders.

The tooling comprises Weinig Hydro tooling and Quick Clamp PowerLock tooling for the recently installed Unimat 3000.

Pride of place in the factory is occupied by Weinig’s computer controlled Unimat 3000 Brillant Profile Centre. It is Crawford’s answer to the growing demand by customers for a fast service on ‘one-offs’ and short runs. Set-up times are a mere five minutes instead of 30 minutes-plus on conventional moulders and the throughfeed speed is twice the normal production speed of normal moulders, without compromise on finish quality.

The breakthrough in technology on the Unimat 3000 is due to Weinig’s adoption of many of the principles used in engineering. Tooling is set up in the tool room and all data for production is downloaded to the machine control system. This tells the operator which tool to change and makes swapping tools fast.

The new tool clamping system PowerLock makes tool changing easier and faster. The cutterblocks are light, compact and operate at 12,000rpm for perfect finish at high feed speeds.

Machine and tool room operators at Crawford’s have mastered this new technology and achieved amazing results. In one eight-hour shift they have made up to 26 job changeovers and in the eight months they have had the machine, they have put 400 different customer profiles in the control system memory. The Unimat 3000 is not only proving a profitable investment, but is attracting a growing number of orders for small runs.

Finished machined products from Lisbellaw include: window and door mouldings, fascias, trimmings, sheetings, handrails, standard and special moulding.

Ronnie Crawford is delighted with Weinig’s machinery and service. ‘They provide us with the tools to do the job and we have established a good working relationship with them over many years,’ he said.

Belfast dock sawmill

Crawford’s Belfast dock sawmill has been in operation for six months. The site was chosen because it is just across the road from the quayside. Crawford’s is the largest single user of timber from the dock and proximity to the quayside brings many advantages.

The dock sawmill manufactures mainly construction products which are regularised or planed. It supplies builders’ suppliers and other timber importers on a JIT delivery basis and is organised to react quickly to orders. Crawford’s customers do not want to carry large stocks, so dependable delivery times are vital to the service provided.

RTD Crawford offers timber preservation using the most up-to-date and environmentally advanced systems. Vacsol Aqua is metal free and contains only biodegradable active ingredients. It is ideal for construction and joinery projects, and for timber used above damp proof course level. Tanalith E pressure treated timber is chrome and arsenic free and can also be used in construction applications. However, it can also be used for outdoor situations where timber is exposed to a high risk of fungal attack. Examples include decking and playground equipment. RTD Crawford was the first UK company to offer this new product. Both treatments are water-based and provide long-term protection against decay and insect attack.

Lean management

Crawford’s Belfast site is distinguished by its impressive timber framed office complex, with space for future expansion. It has a lean management structure comprising two people, Ronnie Crawford’s son Mark and Mark’s wife Claire. Four operators run the production facilities and two additional people work on the site – a total of eight. Few staff are needed because of the high degree of automation.

‘We import over 70,000m3 of timber per year and are the largest importer of timber through the port of Belfast,’ said Mark Crawford. ‘We have built the business on quality and service, and we pay that little bit more to guarantee our customers a timber quality they can depend on.’

A fast growing side of the business is finger-jointed timber. More customers are wanting unusual long lengths, some up to 7.8m, of large sections to 75x225mm. Crawford’s claims it is the biggest supplier and the only company in Ireland that can satisfy this requirement and, because of its efficient finger-jointing technology, it can offer a keen price for this service.

Finger-jointing line

The GreCon finger-jointing line at Crawford’s is highly automated, requiring only one full-time operator. Packs of timber are destacked automatically using a tilt hoist and unscrambler with individual boards being presented to the operator at the defecting station. Any unacceptable defects are marked and the board fed automatically into the Dimter cross-cut saw which removes the sub-standard material. The resulting lengths of good timber are conveyed via a buffer cross transfer to the GreCon Compact Finger Jointer where they are joined lengthways, with the ability to produce an endless ribbon of timber before being cross-cut to a required length and automatically stacked.

The GreCon Compact Finger Jointer is designed to be fed with random length material to be joined together lengthways to produce defect free, straight timber sections in long lengths. The innovative machining techniques employed allow the trailing end of one board to be machined at the same time as the leading end of the subsequent board as well as having the glue automatically applied by the patented Flankenjet system prior to pressing with hydraulic pressures of up to 30 tonnes. The precise execution ensures accurate, high quality and strong finger joints are produced.

A new 150m/min Waco/Weinig automatic line is being installed. It has been built especially to regularise finger-jointed long lengths and other products (eg truss material, door linings, flooring, wall plates, tiling battens and decking).

Crawford’s is clearly run very efficiently. The yard and production areas are noticeably tidy and clean. The company employs only 50 people in total, which is surprisingly few for its output and sales. One senses a friendly family atmosphere in all departments, with flexible attitudes and everyone prepared to do any job. It is a credit to Ronnie Crawford who has created this spirit. He sets the example by being able and willing to do any job in the factory. ‘People work with me,’ said Ronnie, ‘not for me’. This is possibly one of the reasons for Crawford’s success.