Daltons Wadkin already offered several European machine brands, such as Italian-made Salvador saws, Dutch Elcon vertical panel saws and Kuper planer/moulders. But it has now entered the realm of CNC routers – Polish-made Kimla machines – and Nimac horizontal beam saws made in Greece.
The company has just sold its first Nimac to Discount Kitchens, which was installed the same day as W12 stand set-up day, making for a busy show start.
"We are doing more hi-tech machines now and covering a greater spread of business because there is not much money currently being spent in the joinery industry," said Francis Dalton, director of Daltons Wadkin.
Traditionally, the company has concentrated on solid timber machining technology, but it’s now offering sliding table saws, beam saws and vertical panel saws.
Some of the internationally built machines are being badged under the Wadkin name, such as the German-made sliding table saws, featuring the new green and white Wadkin livery.
The company is sticking to European machines and has decided not to source from South-east Asia.
The green and white Wadkin colours were also resplendent on the stand in a rebuilt Wadkin XE six-head moulder (sold to a Northern Ireland merchant) and a Wadkin grinder.
"We are manufacturing more machines with the Wadkin brand and a lot of business is coming in through the website," said Mr Dalton.
He also reported strong interest in the Salvador cross-cutting solution on stand.
"The market has a better feel about it," he added. "It’s very competitive but there is business out there, more than there was."
And he said numbers of visitors at shows like W12 were not as important as the quality of those visitors.
"We’ve had a significant enquiry which we should turn into an order," he added.
SCM showcases product spectrum
SCM Group’s 320m2 stand showcased the wide spectrum of the company’s products, from entry level Minimax sliding table saws – now offered with single and double bag extraction units – to high-end CNC machines.
Latest technology on show included the Pratix S12/B and Tech Z5/52 CNC machining centres; K260 EVO, K600 and S1000 edgebanders; Profiset 60 planer moulder; the Verticut 60 vertical panel saw; and several new Classical machines.
The Tech Z5 on display had a 5-axis routing head and a table area of 5200x1550mm and, said SCM’s Brian Conlon, is ideal for the production of customized furniture components and for panels machining. It’s adaptable, however, and can be equipped with devices that make it suitable for solid wood machining, especially for general joinery and for stair and door manufacture.
The new Profiset 60 was also attracting attention. This sturdy planer moulder has up to six spindles and a 230x120mm capacity and has feed speeds of 6/12m or variable 4-24m/min.
Distinctive features include pneumatic pressure on the feed rollers and the inverter for continuous speed control.
The new Olimpic K600 is said to be the ideal edgebander for companies processing large volumes of panels, even if they are different types, as it is designed to work for many consecutive hours and is fitted with devices to enable fast changeover between jobs.
W12 was very good for SCM, said Mr Conlon, with orders in the bag and the expectation of more to follow post-show.
Finsa takes weight off
A composite lightweight board that combines a polymer/wood particle core with MDF faces received its first UK exhibition airing on the Finsa UK stand.
To showcase the technology’s weight benefits, the Spanish panels producer displayed two shelving units on its stand at W12’s Working with Design. One was made from standard chipboard weighing over 25kg, while the other was made from new superPanstar, weighing under 20kg.
Finsa UK managing director Rafael Willisch said this approach put Finsa in contact with a whole new level of customers, which it intends to service by working with its chain of distributors.
The technology – including BASF’s Kaurit Light polymer and a different gluing system – comes at a price premium to standard panels, but with the benefits of easier handling and the ability to add decorative surfaces including melamine, natural veneer and HPL, plus processing with standard machines.
Mr Willisch said using MDF faces rather than chipboard was key to the board composition working.
Hammonds Furniture is among those trialling the product, which can be made into table tops, worktops, interior doors, furniture, kitchen doors, partitions and even prefabricated buildings.
Elsewhere at Finsa, Mr Willisch said the company was now not pursuing the garden centre market for its garden products range but was focusing on its core distributor and timber merchant customers.
Fercell kicks up Storm
The Weima Ultra Shredder and Fercell Dust Storm dust extraction system were the top attractions on Fercell Engineering’s dual stands.
Fercell highlighted the flexibility and modular build of the Dust Storm to visitors, explaining that the unit took only 40 minutes to assemble at the show.
The self-contained reverse air pulse filter unit, with options of positive or negative pressure filter formats, takes its inspiration from similar units operating in the recycling industry.
Fercell managing director Mark Fletcher said the solution was ideal for companies who regularly needed to change their sanding processes for different types of materials and/or products. Instead of time-consuming wholesale changes, the Dust Storm enables different filter types to be used, including very fine dust cartridges and fabric filters.
Fercell is increasingly making universal components that can be used in more than one product so it can hold higher stocks of individual components and reduce costs.
"This makes manufacturing cheaper and we can take cost out of the product to make it more competitive," said Mr Fletcher.
The Weima Ultra shredder, receiving its first UK exhibition outing, turned heads with its "V" rotor, WAP HD gearbox, heavy-duty "K" spherical bearings and Supercut extended hopper.
Meanwhile, Fercell is investing considerable sums in its online presence and plans to have a webshop facility in January.
