A £100,000 machinery upgrade has taken place at Accrington and Rossendale College’s construction department which is the first of its kind in the UK to be recognised as a CoVE (Centre of Vocational Excellence).

The college officially opened its new, purpose-designed £5.5m Hameldon Building construction centre earlier this year and manager Clive Weston said: “As a pathfinder CoVE for industry, we are committed to providing enhanced vocational learning opportunities for all students.”

College personnel visited the Holz-Handwerk exhibition in Germany to identify requirements for the new centre.

This resulted in an initial £35,000 order to Southport-based woodworking machinery specialists J&C O’Meara Ltd for an Altendorf F45 sliding table saw, a Hofmann TFS 2000 spindle moulder and a Sautereau Concept 4 tenoner.

The Altendorf saw is equipped with DUPLEX, digital displays to both cross-cut and rip, keypad with digital displays, a 7.5hp motor with four speeds and the new Altendorf special safety hood.

The Hofmann spindle moulder is the latest TFS Tegamatic machine, with tilt and an overhead control panel at eye level.

&#8220We have a machine workshop that is the envy of every college that has visited us in our role as a CoVE centre”

John Brindle, college tutor

The Sautereau Concept 4 machine is a four-spindle single end tenoner incorporating mechanical digital clocks on each axial movement for accurate setting.

O’Meara later supplied the construction department with a Hofmann planer, a Hofmann thicknesser and a band resaw, bringing the total machinery investment to around £100,000.

College tutor John Brindle said: “We have, for the first time, machines that are up-to-date with industry. They have the advantage of being well guarded and are in line with every new regulation that has come into force.

“As for teaching aids, they are easy to set up and control with groups of students who are new to using modern machinery. To sum up, we have a machine workshop that is the envy of every college that has visited us in our role as a CoVE centre.”