Furniture manufacturer Thorpe Kilworth Ltd has invested £250,000 in new machinery to boost production capacity by up to 40%.
A Timesavers-Sandingmaster wide belt sander and a Striebig vertical panel saw were purchased through TM Machinery Sales Ltd, sole UK agent for both product ranges. Other machines introduced were a third CNC router/borer, a carcass cramp and a dowel borer/inserter.
Thorpe Kilworth, of Wigston, Leicestershire, designs and makes a wide range of tailor-made furniture used in schools, colleges and universities, hospitals and care homes, pharmaceutical and research laboratories and other public buildings.
It is using the Timesavers-Sandingmaster Winner Senior wide belt panel sander on chipboard, MDF and solid iroko worktop components, plus cabinet doors and carcass panels. The sander’s compact frame ensures streamlined use, while a small footprint saves space.
Features include a variety of heads, a 1900mm long abrasive belt, a digital thickness readout, double infeed and outfeed hold down rolls, an hour meter and a motorised lift.
Meanwhile, the Automat III vertical panel saw is Striebig’s top-of-the-range model designed for high output and efficiency.
It is used to cut solid grade Trespa laminate panels up to 20mm thick, chipboard and MDF panels, 32mm thick iroko panels and Axiom post formed laminate worktops.
Thorpe Kilworth says it has provided a ‘sizeable’ increase in sawing capacity with practically no loss of space.
TM Machinery also arranged for a Palamatic vacuum tube lifting system to load the Trespa laminate panels onto the saw.
