Highfield Timber Products has bought a Koch-manufactured automatic multi-head rail borer as part of a plan to increase market share in the kitchen and bedroom furniture sectors.
The borer, one of only a handful in Europe according to the Maldon-based company, pre-cuts and drills centre posts used by carcass manufacturers. It enables Highfield to produce up to 10 average size posts per minute on five faces, saving the end user time and labour, plus the need for additional specialist machinery on the shop-floor.
Demand for the posts is particularly high in the kitchen sector but the machine can also be used in other areas within the furniture industry.
Highfield has also invested heavily in a CNC router from CMS and panel sawing equipment from Schelling to improve productivity and allow for more complete manufacturing of components.
Investment over the past year totals £300,000 and a company spokesperson said more is in the pipeline. It is being backed by a strong marketing campaign to promote the services on offer.
