Manufacturing Machinery World May 2017

NEWS NEWS NEWS
kerf Cuts a Bright future for
sCottish steel working CompanY
Evolving from a small blacksmiths to a 1.5 acre
site, John Thorburn & Sons Ltd has grown
beyond recognition during its 70 year history.
The family run business that specialises in the
construction, agriculture and commercial steelworking
sectors has always invested in the
latest technology to underpin its continuous
growth. This investment has now seen the
Scottish company invest in an UltraSharp
plasma cutting machine from Rochdale based
Kerf Developments.
Employing over 50 staff that operate a
variety of turning and milling centres as well as
punching, pressing, fabricating and guillotine
equipment, the modern-day business primarily
manufactures, fabricates and erects agricultural
buildings and structures. To manufacture the
numerous components that constitute a
complete steel building structure, Duns based
John Thorburn & Sons relied upon its guillotine,
punching, steel working and fabricating
equipment until the arrival of a Kerf RUR2500
plasma cutting machine.
Commenting on why the company bought
the Kerf RUR2500, Managing Director and
XYZ Machine Tools has announced the
appointment of Howard Bamforth to the role of
Export Sales Director, with the key focus of
developing the potential for XYZ’s range of
ProtoTRAK controlled mills and lathes and
CNC turning and machining centres across
Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
With 28 years’ experience in the machine
tool business, including time working on
machine design and development , project
engineering, customer service/satisfaction and
sales, both through distribution and direct with
customers, Howard is excited at the
opportunity to take the XYZ brand to a wider
audience and increase sales in these export
markets.
“Coming from a more restrictive
environment, it is a refreshing change to join
XYZ Machine Tools with a management
structure that allows quick decision making in
order to meet customer and market demands.
With the extensive and well respected range of
machines on offer from XYZ this is a job that I
am looking forward to getting my teeth into. I
will be maximising my 20 plus years of
experience dealing with European distribution
grandson of company founder John Thorburn
Snr, Mr John Thorburn says: "We recognised
that our method of cropping, punching and
drilling plates was cumbersome, time
consuming and slowing down our throughput.
All our jobs had to be handled and re-worked
on a variety of different machines to arrive at a
finished part. Additionally, we had to stock a
large range of steel bar widths and thicknesses
and this was taking a lot of floor space. Kerf has
instantly eliminated all of these issues."
John Thorburn & Sons investigated the
various options and it arrived at the conclusion
that Kerf Developments had the most suitable
solution for its needs. The Berwickshire
business specified the RUR2500 with a 6m by
2m bed, so it could comfortably fit 4m by 2m by
20mm thick plate on the machine. This bed
capacity enables the company to use the nesting
facility on the Kerf machine to cut up to 50
stanchion base plates in a single set-up.
As a result of acquiring the Kerf UltraSharp
plasma machine, the Scottish company has
streamlined production, reduced steel
stockholding, freed machine tool and labour
capacity and also reduced material and
consumable costs. As a result of releasing this
extra capacity, the company has now started
offering subcontract cutting services as well as
targeting a wider variety of work in its core
market segments.
tel: 01706 757 670
email: sales@kerfdevelopments.com
web: www.kerfdevelopments.com
XYZ strengthens eXport sales
with keY appointment
and the relationships that I have developed, as I
am a great believer in the fact that people buy
from people. I am under no illusion that this
isn’t a tough challenge, but it is one that I am
relishing,” says Howard Bamforth.
Howard joins XYZ at an exciting time for the
company with new machines being introduced
and the company just concluding what looks
like being its seventh consecutive year of record
sales. “As we embark on a new chapter for XYZ
with our first simultaneous five-axis machine,
along with other new developments in 2017,
our growth of export sales will play a major role
in the continuing success of XYZ.
tel: 01823 674200
email: nigel.atherton@xyzmachinetools.com
web: www.xyzmachinetools.com
welding
automation
solves CapaCitY
proBlem
ESAB has supplied an automated welding
system to EWP Windtower Production AB for
making longitudinal welds in sections of wind
turbine towers. The highly efficient submerged
arc welding system comprises a CaB 460C
column-and-boom that manipulates a tandem
single + twin welding head, with a FFRS Super
flux feed and recovery system complete with
heaters and filter unit; power comes from three
ESAB Aristo 1000 welding power sources and
control is via ESAB PEK controllers
complemented by a GMH automatic jointtracking
system. In addition to this equipment,
EWP Windtower Production AB is also using
ESAB consumables, namely OK Autrod 12.22
copper-coated, unalloyed welding wire and OK
Flux 10.71 agglomerated basic flux.
EWP Windtower Production needed to
increase capacity in its factory in Landskrona,
Sweden for manufacturing wind turbine
towers, so the company decided to automate
the welding of longitudinal seams on the
smaller-diameter sections by installing a
column-and-boom submerged arc welding
system. Tenders were invited from prospective
suppliers and the contract was won by ESAB
due to its technical capability, the welding
system’s performance specification and
reliability, a short lead time and competitive
pricing. EWP Windtower Production has used
ESAB equipment for 15 years and was confident
that the new CaB welding system would be
reliable and, should the need arise, ESAB could
be depended on for technical support in relation
to the equipment and welding process.
tel: 0800 389 3152
email: info@esab.co.uk
12 Machinery World, May 2017