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Weinig automates material handling

01 October 2006

The Weinig Group, a leading German specialist in wood processing machinery, now offers the Middle East furniture and woodworking industry a range of new material handling equipment to automate moulders.

The range available from the company has already been installed and proven itself at many UK timber and MDF (medium-density fibreboard) manufacturers, says a spokesman for the company.
The key to moulding profitability is automation, he points out.
He elaborates: “Modular technology innovation is progressing at such a pace, that it is difficult for manufacturers to keep sufficiently well-informed to plan and further optimise their production efficiency and profitability. The actual moulding process has advanced considerably since the introduction of the Weinig new-generation Powermat moulder, PowerLock tooling, and PowerCom setting system.
“Even conventional moulders can be exploited by automating material handling at the infeed and outfeed of the moulder – offering additional efficiency and profit benefits.
“A simple infeed system alone can boost moulder performance by 30 per cent, by butt feeding moulders that run at more than 40 m per minute. Consider how much more can be achieved by automating off-loading, stacking, bundling and packaging?”
The range of material handling equipment offered by the Weinig Group comprises:
• Nine infeed and nine outfeed High-Mech, pre-designed, modular elements for moulders operating up to 100 m per minute; and
• A wide range of High-Tech elements for moulders operating from 100 to 200 m per minute, designed to suit higher speeds and factory layout.
In addition, at very high speeds, the Weinig Group can offer Waco equipment; and at high speeds for smaller, standard, conventional moulders, there is a range of simple EM hopper feed units.
“Automation of material handling can benefit companies in many ways,” he continues. “It is safer and less tiring and stressful for operators, saves on labour costs, allows moulders to be run continuously at full speed and not have to be slowed down or stopped to suit manual off-loading. It also maximizes quality, productivity and profit and minimises the number of moulders required. Weinig’s material handling elements can also be made to fit older moulders without difficulty, and with considerable potential for economic payback.”
Weinig is prepared to offer advice and technical support to its customers, he says. ‘We are readily available to explain the merits of automisation to customers, at their request and without any commitment from them. It is in Weinig’s interest too, to ensure that customers maximise their production efficiency and profitability, and to know what is available to them’.
Weinig’s policy is to form a close ongoing partnership with all its customers and to help them grow and prosper. It encourages its customers to approach the firm with their future production plans, objectives and manufacturing needs, so that it can provide assistance from the outset.
“The better the customer requirements are known and understood, the better focused the solutions and technology package will be. Weinig’s philosophy is to provide the opportunity for customers to concentrate all their efforts on running their own business, leaving production solutions and efficiency for Weinig to solve,” he says.
Some of Weinig’s closest partners today, had initially started off by being sceptical about the benefits of working closely with just one manufacturer but “Weinig soon earned the customer’s confidence and has been accepted as a responsible part of their production management team, as they realised that ‘cherry picking’ of machines from different machine manufacturers had too many disadvantages, compared with one totally committed specialist partner, who understood the production needs in detail, and was capable of giving prompt back-up, from one source. Weinig is also able to offer onsite advice by its technicians on best practice around the machines and systems that enables customers to get optimum output from their investments,” he concludes.