Even more impressive than the scale of the group’s presence were its sales. "Everything here has sold," said the company’s Chris Conway. "The orders placed here will keep us busy for the next two years."
The Homag BAZ 322 profiLine CNC machining centre with edgebander found a buyer in Imperial Office Furniture. This model features a PUR gluing unit, rather than the conventional EVA hotmelt.
"PUR is waterproof so is likely to become the standard for kitchen and bathroom manufacturers," said Mr Conway, adding that it was the first time the BAZ 322 had been shown in the UK with this particular gluing unit.
Meanwhile, the Bargstedt TLF 210 storage and retrieval system was sold to Fairline Boats plc. "It’s a space-saving panel handling system," said Mr Conway. "It’s not a new idea, although it’s fairly new in the UK and there has been a great deal of interest in it at the show."
The fully-automated system, which ideally is linked to one of Holzma’s HPP series saws, is said to revolutionise production processes, keeping track of what is used and what off-cuts are stored as the boards are cut. The crane ‘knows’ which panel is required next and goes to the right location to pick up the board before bringing it to the loading table of the saw.
Homag machinery’s edge gluing capability was also to the fore. LaserTec, which was shown at W10, uses a laser beam to melt the surface to be glued, which is then pressed directly onto the workpiece. The laser beam is automatically deflected over the entire width of the edgeband by an oscillating mirror. The result is an invisible surface-to-edge transition, or "zero joint".
However, one of the "star machines" at the show was the Brandt airTec edgebander. The only machine on the stand that wasn’t for sale, the airTec "produces a laser finish without the laser", said Mr Conway. Producing the same quality as laserTec but running at about half the speed, it is suitable for the smaller office fit-out manufacturer, for example.
Vero blows the whistle
Periodic blasts from a whistle could be heard above the hum of machinery in hall 7 on the final day of W12. Each blast signified another signed order for Vero Software, the company behind Alphacam and Cabinet Vision which, between them, took orders worth over £110,000. They also have more than 160 leads.
"It’s been a fantastic show and beyond our expectations," said Alphacam general manager Nick Spurrett. "It’s certainly better than W10 and we’d have to go back to W6 for similar levels of business.
"Our customers are saying their order books are full and that they need to speed up their manufacturing," he continued. "Some of their processes are being reduced from two hours to 10 minutes and this really helps push the additional orders through.
"Because companies have a constant stream of work they have money to invest in the right software to not only drive their new CNC machine tools, but to drive their existing tools faster and better, increasing productivity. That’s why both Alphacam and Cabinet Vision did so well at W12."
The show was the first opportunity for visitors to see the latest Alphacam software release, Alphacam 2013 R1, the response to which was "fantastic".
New features include toolpath oscillation – a sinusoidal or zig-zag up and down movement that can be applied to any contour toolpath, using more of the cutting length of the tool and improving the surface finish; and a new reporting function to create user configurable reports and labels.
A new release by Cabinet Vision – V8 – also impressed visitors and the brand’s general manager Richard Chappell said the rendering features were the best ever. "Woodworking manufacturers already use rendering as a marketing tool. Now those renderings, which show their customers exactly how the cabinets look in situ, are even better."
W12 was the first time in the UK that Alphacam and Cabinet Vision exhibited under the new Vero branding, following the merger of Vero and Planit last year.
P&J adds extra service
P&J Dust Extraction exhibited one of its bag units with high filtration and auto shaker, and also a smaller unit, the PJ14 cartridge filter for "super-fine dust".
This latter model caters for those in the woodworking sector that have a large volume of air but low volumes of waste – the education sector, for example.
The market was currently good for those in the dust extraction sector, said a P&J spokesperson, adding that as part of its regular LEV testing service, the company was now able to help customers comply with the Health & Safety Executive’s (HSE) new Fee for Intervention (FFI) regulation.
The FFI regulation, which came in on October 1, means companies that breach health and safety regulations are now liable for the recovery of the HSE’s costs, including inspection, investigation and taking enforcement action.
"We can help companies comply with HSE requirements on all LEV systems as part of our regular testing," said the spokesperson. "We’re the first company to offer this service."
Combilift enjoys strong market
This year’s exhibition resulted in plenty of leads for regular exhibitor Combilift, according to product manager Steve Tomlinson.
And, he added, the overall market had been good for the multi-directional fork lift specialist, despite the economic downturn.
"Last year was the best we’ve had and this year is looking even better," he said. "All our products result in space-savings for companies so they’re ideal for businesses trying to reduce their overheads – moving from two sites to one, for example. Manufacturing is doing well generally and timber seems to be on the up."
Combilift exhibited three models: the C4000, suitable for handling large packs of timber; the Combi-CB compact counterbalance; and an SL series sideloader.
"Combilift is always coming up with new products and there are developments in the pipeline for 2013," said Mr Tomlinson.
Ohra racks up the sales
Regular Working with Wood exhibitor Ohra Racking Systems took some "quality orders" at W12, according to the company’s Robert Meadows. "I’m optimistic about the show; it’s gone well," he said.
The company was exhibiting examples of its heavy-duty P3 pallet racking and heavy-duty K60 cantilever with roof arms. The latter, said Mr Meadows, was "an example of how you can accommodate palletised goods with arm bridges".
In view of the woodworking nature of the show Ohra also demonstrated the K40 rack. "It’s attracted a lot of interest from people who need to tidy up the timber in their workshops but who need something compact," said Mr Meadows.
