Clearview National September 2016 - Issue 178 | Page 78

MACHINERY

Investment improves efficiency
»»FAST-GROWING EUROCELL
fabricator, Ford Windows, has recently
invested in a new Stuga ZX4 sawing and
machining center for its main Sheffield factory,
where they currently produce over 2000
windows per week. Managing Director, Philip
Shackley, looked at the competition but,
even after claims about how big and strong
their machines were, he decided he liked the
innovation of the Stuga ZX4. He could also
see that the Stuga machine was big and strong
where it needed to be, rather than just wasted
steel in areas that do nothing.
HIGH DEGREE OF ACCURACY
Not only has Ford Windows found the
Stuga to be very versatile but it is also proving
to be fast, accurate and reliable. The ZX4 is
accurate to a higher degree than PVCu profile
can be measured or normal measuring devices
are capable of detecting. Philip and his team
particularly like the on-board cameras that can
record events. Ford Windows start at 6.00am
each morning and the Stuga service desk is not
then open but if there are any issues these are
recorded ready for technicians to analyse the
recordings when they arrive. These cameras
are in addition to the internet software link
and come with microphones, so the machine
can be listened to as well as watched. Another
great benefit comes from the fact that Stuga
is the manufacturer and is based here in the
UK, speaking the same language in the same
time zone.

78 » SE P 2016 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M

TOTAL FLEXIBILITY
The Stuga ZX4 has a very tough and
flexible rotary tooling system at the heart of
the machine and this gives total flexibility to
produce the full Eurocell Eurologik 70mm
system and associated hardware with ease. This
profile is in demand with housebuilders due
to the high energy ratings and the six chamber
system is no problem for the ZX4’s fully
programmable gripper system, which uses
a CNC axis for smart and accurate control.
The ZX4 is also easily programmable for the
Eurocell Modus window profiles, which are
gaining in popularity. In fact, the inbuilt
flexibility created by the rotary tooling means
that only software updates are required in
order to add new profiles that may come along
in the future. No tooling is needed and, unlike
fixed head machines, the Stuga can be adapted
profile by profile and hardware by hardware to
create almost any combination the fabricator
may require.
EFFICIENCY IN PRODUCTION
Ford Windows has been listed as one of
Yorkshire’s fastest growing companies in
both 2015 and 2016, with turnover almost
doubling between 2013 and 2014. Ford also
expanded into Scotland with a factory in East
Kilbride that broke even in the first year of
operation and which is now profitable and
expanding steadily. The company supply
and fit everything, giving housebuilders
the one-stop-shop they like. Customers

include Barratt Development, Persimmon
and Taylor Wimpey. The Stuga ZX4 is part
of a £1 million investment in the company
and the investment is already being repaid
by this machine, which is currently saving
Ford £4,000 per week in profile and nearly as
much in reduced staff, all of who have been
redeployed in other functions within the
business to help in the expansion programme.
The fabricator is already achieving efficiency
in production of nearly eighty five percent
and this is after only four months in
production.
ON SITE TRAINING
With this level of automation sometimes
being resisted by a workforce, Finance
Director, Julian Thorpe, and Managing
Director, Philip Shackley, ensured that all
key staff and supervisors were involved in the
planning process so that when the machine
arrived there were no surprises. Stuga also
spent three weeks on site properly training
operators, supervisors and maintenance staff
to ensure as smooth an installation as possible
keeping teething issues to a minimum.
PEACE OF MIND
The Stuga ZX4 uses two operators to
achieve between 800 and 1,000 windows
per week in a single shift, with accuracy in
everything including ‘Y’ notches, but Stuga
Service provides total peace of mind for the
odd occasion when something goes wrong.