The automation of part of its production process is to help sawmiller A&J Scott Ltd to increase turnover by £1.1m.
Alnwick-based A&J Scott is to spend £40,000 automating knife changovers on one of its industrial saws, which is set to reduce downtime from up to 10 minutes to one to two minutes and increase turnover by as much as £675,000 according to finance director Rosemary Bertram.
The automation is part of a drive to improve efficiency at the sawmill after consultation with engineers from the North East Productivity Alliance (NEPA), which included masterclasses on conserving resources and lean manufacturing.
“Our data collection so far has proven that by adopting all the lean manufacturing techniques learned on the NEPA masterclasses we can achieve an increase in turnover of £1.1m,” said Ms Bertram.
The modification to the saw is due to be completed by January 18, alongside work to update the company’s waste handling systems.
A&J Scott recently suffered two fires, one of which destroyed one of the company’s older sawmills, but Ms Bertram added that the company is now looking forward to 2008 and continuing its work with NEPA as part of a process of continuous business development.
