In the last four years Topform has quadrupled production, expanded into new markets, cut lead times and taken further significant steps along its chosen path of being a high volume small batch panel processor.
The facilities in Gort, Co Galway, comprise two factories in one: the first producing kitchen worktops primarily for the Irish market; the second manufacturing contoured office desktops and customised furniture panels mainly for export.
In 2001 the company celebrated its 25th anniversary – but perhaps more pertinently this is the fifth year since the current management took over. Under the leadership of Paul Glynn, following a buyout in 1996, the company adopted the strict principles of ‘World Class Manufacturing’ and began a new era of training, expansion and investment.
A development plan was created, the first phase of which tackled Topform’s cutting requirements and improved efficiency and flexibility. Phase two added volume edgebanding capability and expanded capacity for straight edged components and panels. The latest spend is in curved edge technology to meet demand for D-end and circular tops.
Topform wanted a system that catered for both volume and batch component production. A detailed analysis of the machinery available was made in order to determine the most time-efficient solution, and Topform’s components supervisor Patrick Donohue visited leading machinery suppliers in Italy and Germany. Several combination edgebanding/drilling/routing machines were examined, but they failed to offer a satisfactory answer.
‘Our emphasis was on “load to load” time for the complete job rather than individual drilling and edging requirements,’ said Mr Donohue. ‘Biesse‘s solution of the Rover 30 machining centre teamed with the Millennium CNC edgebander was twice as fast as combination machines.
‘Desk designs are constantly changing and evolving, and we needed machinery that can cope with this.’
Customised solutions
Biesse was a willing partner to Topform, customising the machines to meet its requirements. On the Rover 30 this included extending the bed arms to increase the Y-axis stroke and moving the bi-directional router to the front of the head. This enabled ‘nesting’ (machining two shaped desktops from a single panel) using 4500mm x 2100mm MFC. Previously boards were cut on the beam saw and the tops shaped and bored one at a time. Nesting has reduced wastage and increased Topform’s competitiveness.
The Rover 30 is available with three bed lengths up to 6m and is controlled by a PC. It can machine components up to a maximum of 200mm in thickness (Z-axis) and features a heavy-duty construction and powerful vacuum for handling large workpieces. It can be equipped with up to three toolchangers to hold a maximum of 35 tools – including a carousel mounted on the head carriage for rapid toolchanging on the run.
Because the head can move around all four sides of a workpiece, the Rover 30 allows five face machining – including boring, routing, grooving and angled profiling – in a single clamping operation and with one set-up.
Topform says the flexibility of the Biesse machinery is essential for office furniture components, as shapes become more complicated and requirements more specific.
‘We hardly sell a straight-edged desk these days,’ said sales director Maria Lyons. ‘Customers want an individual solution for their specific market sector, and cockpits and radial desktops have become the norm.
‘The combination of the Rover 30 and the Millennium edgebander has allowed us to make curved desks elements in greater volumes, and responding early to this trend has been the key to our success.’
Biesse’s Millennium, which can handle panels from 300mm x 300mm to 2300mm x 1200mm and 1800mm x 1800mm, in thicknesses from 15-45mm, completes all edging and trimming operations automatically and in a single set-up. Components are placed on the pallet table, and then picked up by the integral robotic vacuum lifting arm and positioned next to the rotating workstation. This comprises three units – edgebanding; top and bottom edge-trimming and glue scraping; and end-trimming and corner rounding.
The NC system calculates the length of edging strip needed for the workpiece and a pneumatic circular saw cuts the required amount from the reel, which is designed for fast and easy changing of edging from 0.8-3mm thickness of both ABS/PVC and melamine material. The panel is held securely as the overhead carriage rotates it through 360O against the hot-melt gluing and edgebanding unit, accurately applying the edging all around the panel – including straight and shaped edges as well as tight cut-out curves. The panel moves away from the head and the working station rotates to present the two trimming units in turn.
Topform has operated in the UK for more than 20 years and today supplies several top office furniture manufacturers. In most cases the latter outsource more complicated work to Topform, freeing their own capacity for volume production of straight panels.
During the last 18 months the company has also achieved increasing success in other European countries, initially Belgium and now Holland, France and Germany. European sales are expected to reach more than one million euros this year, and the figure is forecast to double next year.
Topform specialises in providing customised panels to furniture manufacturers and does not produce finished furniture elements. As an evolution of its service the company has launched TopOffice this year to cater to smaller companies which do not have a complete range of their own.
Shortening lead times
TopOffice comprises a standard range of predetermined sizes, shapes and colours, available on short lead times at competitive prices. In an easy step-by-step process, desk elements can be chosen directly from the brochure, and pre-designed drawings are provided on request. This service is backed up by Biesse’s machinery, with its flexible programming and ability to store standard drawings in memory allowing small batches to be produced efficiently and economically.
For kitchen worktops Topform brings in raw chipboard in thicknesses from 9-38mm and sheet sizes of 3665mm x 2470mm to provide flexibility in cutting to customers’ sizes. The board is laminated and post-formed in-house and worktops are made to order.
Orders can be for anything from a single worktop, but the average is 20.
Laminate sheets, often in several different colours and designs, are assembled for each order and placed in racks until the chipboard has been machined. On average, one worktop is made every 29 seconds and a lorry load of raw chipboard is processed in around half a day. Two deliveries arrive each day and Topform keeps around four loads in stock as a buffer. Similarly, by manufacturing to order the company avoids having to keep large volumes of finished goods on site – worktops might be stored for a maximum of 24-36 hours while a load is collated for transport.
In the competitive market for kitchen worktops, product quality, choice and service are highly important. Topform has cut lead times from five weeks to just 72 hours, and last year the company launched an enhanced range, TopTrends, and updated and customised all promotional and point-of-sale material.
TopTrends offers customers an extensive choice of colours and sizes, and is complemented by the TopDoor kitchen studio door range and TopWood solid wood worktops.
In the last 10 years Topform has trebled its turnover and the latest figures indicate that this growth is set to continue, with further reinvestment and expansion that will secure the future of the company.
‘Topform has come a long way since its early years, and investment in sophisticated machinery and computer systems has greatly increased our capacity and efficiency,’ said Paul Glynn. ‘Our success is the result of hard work and determination, and in no small measure to our skilled workforce – we are striving to be the best that we can be. Despite growth and expansion we have continued to pay attention to detail in all aspects of our operation – including decisions on investment in machinery and technology.’
