Order online: www.leitz.com.au - Supplier Woodworking magazine

SEPT/OCT 2012

Häfele App: 

The Complete Häfele comes to iPad! 

Now you can access everything Häfele has to offer anytime, anywhere. You’ll be able to present the best design 

concepts and products to clients, show them how they look in real-life installations and order products for your 

project whether you are in the office, on the job site or on the go. Suddenly turning your ideas into reality has 

never been easier. 

Like us on facebook: www.facebook.com/hafeleaustralia 

Features: 

• Access the entire Häfele Catalogue library, all stored 

in one compact and portable location - your iPad! 

• Download the catalogues to your iPad and enjoy 

fast browsing through catalogue pages. 

• Multiple search functions, either by product name, 

article number or simply browse through 

catalogue’s contents. 

• Single page portrait or double page landscape views. 

• Zoom or move around pages with simple 

touch motions. 

• See something interesting? Share the Häfele app 

experience and email it to a friend. 

• Add articles to your shopping cart, access live online 

pricing and stock availability. Then place your order 

on the spot. 

Melbourne | Sydney | Newcastle | Brisbane | Adelaide | Perth | Canberra | Hobart | Launceston 

info@hafele.com.au www.hafele.com 1300 659 728 

Download the App FREE 

from the Apple App Store ®

FLAP DOOR 

FITTINGS FOR 

FURNITURE 

Häfele 

DUO 

Lid Stay + Flap Stay 

DUO. One lid stay with multiple application 

possibilities: Stops in any position or closes with 

braking function. Can be mounted on one or both 

sides. Need higher load capacity? Choose DUO Forte 

for flap heights up to 700 mm. 

Both now available in three finishes, nickel, black and white! 

www.hafele.com 

Häfele 

MAXI 

Stay Flap Fitting 

The fitting for higher load-bearing applications and 

creative design: MAXI stands for effortless opening of 

heavy flaps with an extensive variety of applications 

such as multi-position stopping. “Touch opening” and 

“push-to-open” activation for handle-free flaps. And if 

desired they close without a sound, thanks to optional 

soft-closing mechanism.

Upfront 

The long awaited and much anticipated AWISA 2012 

exhibition, held in Sydney in July, certainly was a 

welcome surprise for the majority of exhibitors struggling 

with the economic downturn. The visitors came at a 

steady pace throughout the four day event and reports 

from all quarters confirmed that the show was successful, 

even in these challenging times. 

Visually, there were some stunning stands – 

particularly in the area designated ‘Design’ by the 

show organisers. This area was mainly occupied by 

companies supplying hardware, components and 

decorative products for the cabinet, furniture, kitchen 

and fit-out industries – and they were always extremely 

busy. Supplier Magazine would particularly like to 

single out Borg Decorative, Hettich and Hafele for their 

exceptional stand displays. 

We also noticed that our advertisers’ stands were all 

extremely busy – and size did not matter! 

Our inaugural Gold Star Award nominations at 

AWISA were thoroughly scrutinised and we were 

impressed by many of the stands, the products and the 

activities on them. Eventually though, a final choice had 

to be made and the Supplier Woodworking Magazine’s 

Gold Star Awards went to Beyond Tools, Weinig, Holz- 

Her, Hettich, Altendorf and Wood Tech. 

Congratulations to all the exhibitors at the show – your 

hard work was obviously well worth all the effort. 

Dave Kahle 

Advisory Panel Member 

Vicky Cammiade - Publisher 

Ph: 03 9890 0815; Fax: 03 9890 0087 or 

Email: vicky.cammiade@elitepublishing.com.au 

Meet the team 

Vicky Cammiade 

Publisher 

Sean O’Sullivan 


Phil Ashley 


Jennifer Curtis 

Group Managing Editor 

Dr Greg Chapman 


Michael Buckley 


Contents 

Member of the International Woodworking and 

Furniture Supplier Magazine Association 

SEPT/OCT 2012 vol. 28 no.5 

☞News 

06 New all Australian furniture 

show 

08 Timalac Coatings celebrates 

20th birthday 

10 New worldwide timber 

legality requirements 

☞Design & Trends 

14 KDBi Australian Kitchen and 

Bathroom Designer Awards 

20 Nikpol – helping to ensure a 

healthy environment 

☞Business 

24 Times are tough: who can 

afford an ad agency? 

26 Is your business running you? 

☞Associations 

27 CMA news 

☞AWISA Review 

30 AWISA 2012 – the return 

☞Manufacturing 

50 Turning a business on 

its head 

54 Finishing innovations at 

IWF 2012 

☞Front Cover 

Multicam Systems Newcastle 

www.multicamcncrouters.com.au 

The only specialist business publication 

servicing the Furniture, Kitchen, Shop/Office 

Fittings, Cabinetmaking, Joinery and the 

related timber and panel product industries in 

Australasia for over 26 years! 

www.suppliermagazine.com.au

Akron 

The Akron 400 series of edgebanders 

are highly versatile and flexible. 

With features suitable 

for up to 12mm solid 

timber, and processing 

times of up to 

18m/min Akron 

Edgebanders are 

second to none. 

Windows based touch screen control 

Innovative glue pot technology - requires 

no greasing! 

Quick melt gluing system 

High quality HSD electrospindle 

CNC 4 motor servo-driven trimming units 

Two motor corner rounding units with 

automatic 4 position set up via control 

We have a Biesse 

Showroom near you! 

NSW E: nsw@biesseaustralia.com.au 

VIC E: vic@biesseaustralia.com.au 

QLD E: qld@biesseaustralia.com.au 

SA E: sa@biesseaustralia.com.au 

WA E: wa@biesseaustralia.com.au 

NZ P: +64 (0)9 278 1870 

E: sales@biessenewzealand.co.nz 

Call 1300 BIESSE 

400 SERIES 

Edgebanding Solutions 

Two position scraping unit for automatic 

processing of 1mm and 2mm edge strip 

Glue joint scraping unit 

Hot air blower unit 

Skill 

G FT 

SERIES 

Biesse makes the Nesting decision EASY 

– start with stand alone nesting machine 

and upgrade to automatic loading 

and unloading machine or fully 

automated labeling 

cells at anytime. 

Table sizes from 2400 x 

1200mm to 3600 x 1800mm 

Windows based PC control 

Automatic table zoning 

10 vertical spindle drill head 

On board tool change – 12 positions 

300 m3 Oil cooled vacuum pump 

Sensors on all stop pins 

Full Yaskawa digital drive system (patented) 

HSD 16HP electrospindle 

Presetter for the measurement of the tool length 

Easy to use and fully integrated software Including 

BiesseWorks and BiesseNest

News 

Just Pure Australian made 

The Queensland Furnishing 

Industry Association (FIAA 

Qld) is organising a new, 

boutique trade show exclusively 

showcasing Australian Made 

furniture and bedding products. 

The show, called Pure Australia 

2013, will be held from 18 to 20 

April 2013 in the Exhibition Hall at 

the RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane. 

Pure Australia will be all about 

showcasing the benefits of buying 

quality Australian Made furniture and 

bedding products and will project 

the industry’s vigour, purpose and 

determination to stay committed 

to creative, colourful, professional 

Australian excellence, with quality 

and design that cannot be matched. 

“Australian manufacturers offer 

the finest, most creative and highest 

quality furniture with the uniqueness 

of customised versatility because we 

proudly make it here,” explained 

Gerry Murray, General Manager 

of FIAA (Qld.) “Anyone wishing to 

exhibit at the show will have to be a 

designated Australian manufacturer 

and all products exhibited must be 

Australian Made – no imports – as 

per the ACCC criteria,” he said. 

Because this is the only dedicated 

Australian Made furniture and 

bedding trade show in the country, 

visitors in attendance will be there 

for the sole purpose of viewing 

Blum showroom opens in Queensland 

BLUM has relocated its Queensland 

operation to a new 1000m² office 

and showroom in Underwood. 

Due to recent growth, Blum required 

a larger property for training and 

presentations, but also used the move 

as an opportunity to increase exposure 

to end consumers. Blum’s Queensland 

showroom now presents the most current 

innovations consistent with Blum’s other 

showrooms across Australia. 

Blum’s new Queensland showroom 

has been divided into specific functions 

creating three separate areas within the 

main showroom covering the three main 

6 | SupplierSept/Oct 2012 

Australian Made products, so 

exhibitors will be promoting their 

latest ranges to a very targeted 

audience. 

The show is aimed at premium 

furniture and bedding retailers, 

high end design retailers, interior 

designers, decorators and specifiers. 

It should also be of great interest to 

property, hospitality and healthcare 

sector corporate buyers together 

with State Government procurement 

specifiers and international buyers. 

“This is an excellent opportunity 

for Australian manufacturers to 

raise their industry profile and 

create an awareness of their 

brands in the absence of imports. 

They can also support the buying 

process by answering the buyers’ 

questions face-to-face,” said 

Gerry. “We believe the industry 

will benefit from this excellent 

value-for-money way of promoting 

Australian Made furniture.” 

Geoff Manson, Managing Director 

of Contour Furniture and chairman 

of the show committee believes 

this exciting event will capture the 

passion of the Australian furniture and 

bedding industry and be a catalyst in 

the industry’s resurgence. 

“I urge all Australian 

manufacturers to participate in this 

event and all buyers or potential 

buyers to attend,” said Geoff. ● 

product lines. Blum’s home application 

displays are located nearby displaying 

products in a variety of scenarios, 

including bathroom, home office, 

wardrobe and home entertainment. 

Further to this a Dynamic Space kitchen 

demonstrates the benefits of designing a 

kitchen with functionality and a workflow 

in mind. 

Mark Hahn, Blum State Sales Manager 

commented: “The Kitchen-Test Drive is 

also a fantastic brand new concept to 

our Queensland showroom. The room 

consists of functional and movable 

cabinetry allowing visitors to set up their 

Employee or contractor: 

helping you make the right 

decision 

BeFORe your business engages workers, you 

need to check whether they are employees 

or contractors by examining the details of the 

working arrangements. 

It is important that you get the decision right as you 

will need to meet different tax and super obligations 

depending on whether your workers are employees 

or contractors. 

Many businesses are getting the employee or 

contractor decision wrong as they are not checking 

whether they have set up their arrangements correctly. 

A significant number of businesses the ATO visited last 

year got it wrong. 

The ATO Employee or contractor homepage offers 

comprehensive, easy to understand information 

you can rely on to determine if your workers are 

employees or contractors. 

The homepage has all the information you need in 

one place to help you determine if your workers are 

employees or contractors, including: 

• the basics – things every business needs to know 

• the common reasons businesses get the employee 

or contractor decision wrong 

• industry specific information 

• an Employee/contractor decision tool which will 

give an answer businesses can rely on 

• summary of the obligations businesses need to meet 

for their employees or contractors. 

You are responsible for correctly determining if your 

workers are employees or contractors and meeting 

the required tax and super obligations. If you get the 

decision wrong, you risk having to pay penalties. 

For more information visit www.ato.gov.au/ 

EmployeeContractorEssentials ● 

kitchen according to their proposed plan. 

The customer is able to stand in their 

kitchen and see what works and what 

doesn’t prior to installation. It has been 

an amazing success so far in providing 

the end user with the reassurance that 

their kitchen, once installed, will be a 

functional, enjoyable space to work in.” 

The facility also has a workshop for 

technical product training available by 

request through Blum area managers 

while Dynamic Space workshops are held 

on a regular basis providing research 

information and concepts for industry 

professionals to utilise in their business. ● 


16 Industry Leaders speak on 

Go to www.youtube.com now and search empower time tracking software 

Greenmount Manufacturing “Substantial increases 

in factory productivity” - $10 million annual turnover, 45 

staff, in commercial fit outs, kitchens and camper van 

fit outs – using Empower for 8 months (Auckland) 

Comace Interior Fit Outs “We have achieved well in 

excess of 30% increase in factory productivity” – 27 

staff business using Empower for 4 years (Adelaide) 

Rose and Heather Furniture “100% increase in 

factory and staff productivity using Empower Software” 

– 20 factory staff and using Empower for 5 years 

(Auckland) 

Central Joinery “Our goal is for Empower to increase 

our factory productivity by 25%” – $10 million annual 

turnover, 45 staff, using Empower for 3 years 

(Auckland) 

RH Page Shop Fitters International Shop Fitter 

seriously committed to lean manufacturing and 

Empower Software – 30 factory staff using Empower 

for 2 years (Auckland) 

Peppertree Furniture 1 “45.25 % increase in factory 

productivity - using Empower for 10 weeks” – 20 

factory staff (Adelaide) 

Peppertree Furniture 2 “86% increase in factory 

productivity ¬ using Empower for 6 months” – 20 

factory staff (Adelaide) 

Montage Kitchens “17% increase in factory 

productivity in year 1” – 20 man kitchen shop using 

Empower for 8 years (Hamilton) 

16 Industry Leading Kitchen, Cabinet, Shop Fitting, Furniture, Window and Joinery Manufacturers throughout Australia and New Zealand 

talk about their productivity increases, KPIs, factory secrets and use of Empower Software – live on YouTube NOW. All are short videos a few 

minutes each. Factory productivity increases profiled on YouTube range from 17% to 160% - the average increase in factory productivity 

across 21 manufacturers is 47.5%. 

Go to www.youtube.com now and search empower time tracking software. 

Diary note to view YouTube again in 3 months time: an additional 16 leading manufacturers who use Empower Software will be on YouTube. 

Empower Manufacturing Software Modules 

• Time Tracking/Labour Management Software (using 2nd hand PCs on the factory floor) 

• Job Scheduling Software 

• Quoting, Materials, Job Management Software 

Phone, e mail or go to our web site - and we will send you a FREE information package including a proposal to implement 

Empower Software in your business - manufacturing@xtra.co.nz or www.empowersoftware.biz 

Sydney (02) 8011 3281, Melbourne (03) 9016 2537, Adelaide (08) 7200 1132, Auckland (09) 307 1115 

Modulink Joinery “$6 million annual turnover, 30 staff, in 

hotel fit outs, kitchens and office furniture – business and 

turnover has grown ten fold in 6 years and Empower has 

controlled that growth and profitability over the 6 years” 

(Christchurch) 

Barrett Joinery “30% increase in Factory Productivity” 

18 factory staff using Empower for 5 years (Timaru) 

Phoenix Aluminium Windows “160% + increase in factory 

productivity. 26 factory staff down to 10 staff and output 

increased” - $13 million annual turnover, one of 

New Zealand’s most productive and progressive aluminium 

window Manufacturers (Auckland) 

Vogue Kitchens “Significant increases in factory 

productivity within 2 weeks of Empower Software 

implementation” – 9 factory staff (New Plymouth) 

Total Timba “25% factory productivity increase - and 

Empower Software worked from day 1” - 8 factory staff 

using Empower for 4 years (Auckland) 

PJT Cabinets “We used to use time sheets that our staff 

filled in their times on jobs at day end. Empower proved the 

time manual sheet times were highly inaccurate. We have 

made significant productivity gains in the factory and office 

on Empower and I highly recommend it” 

MARS Heavy Road Transport “Empower turned our 

factory productivity on its ear increasing it by an absolute 

minimum 30%, and turned my business around” - 35 man 

engineering shop using Empower for 3 years (Riverland, SA) 

Home Plus Southland “160% increase in factory 

productivity. 9 factory staff reduced down to 5 staff in year 

1 – same output. Then 5 factory staff doing twice the 

turnover and work load that the 9 staff had been completing 

previously” - using Empower for 5 years (Invercargill)

News 

Australian Made welcomes 

breakthrough for Aussie exports in China 

IN a major breakthrough for 

Australian exporters, the Australian 

Made, Australian Grown (AMAG) 

logo has now been formally 

trademarked in China. 

This means that for the first time ever, 

Australian exporters have a symbol 

which can be used on their Australianmade 

or grown exports into China, 

that both establishes their products 

as genuinely Australian and is legally 

protected under Chinese law. 

“Historically, China has been a 

challenging environment for the protection 

of intellectual property,” Australian Made 

Chief Executive, Ian Harrison, said. 

“The AMAG logo’s formal registration 

in China as a country-of-origin symbol 

Timbalac Coatings’ 20th Anniversary 

A 20-year milestone for any company is worth 

celebrating. 

A celebration where an auditorium is filled with satisfied 

customers and business partners is worthy of applause. Such 

was the case on 4 September when at least 90 industry people 

gathered at Holmesglen TAFE in Victoria to celebrate 20 years of 

Timbalac service to the timber coatings industry. 

Director and industry icon, Eric Zeeve was on hand to 

welcome his many customers and business associates from 

around the country. Special guests included Parliamentary 

Secretary for Education, Inga Peulich, master of ceremonies, 

Mark Amos from the Master Painters Association, representatives 

from Sayerlac (Italy) and Philip Ashley from the furnishing 

department at Holmesglen. 

Inga Peulich, who sits on the all-party committee for economic 

development and has a 30-year involvement in small business, 

said that, over the years, Timbalac has been a company that has 

maintained high standards and that the State Government looked 

forward to continue working with companies such as Timbalac to 

ensure strong economic development. 

Mrs Peulich went on to say that the focus was on capturing 

more of the domestic and International markets with increased 

competitiveness and that priority markets were China, India and 

the Middle East. 

Eric spoke about his company and how it had been able to 

weather the ups and downs of the last 20 years and promised 

that he would personally be an active partner with industry for 

the next 20 years. He thanked his loyal customers, and his major 

suppliers, Sayerlac from Italy. 

Sayerlac has worked with Timbalac and Australian 

manufacturers to develop quality products specifically for the 

Australian industry. 

Over the years, Eric has always maintained that a quality 

product will last longer, provide better coverage and provide 


for Australia now provides an essential 

legal framework which exporters can 

rely upon in the event that the logo (or 

product carrying it) is copied or used 

without proper authority.” 

Australian Made commenced the 

registration process four years ago with 

the active and financial support of the 

Australian Government. 

“Australia has long enjoyed an 

invaluable reputation as a reliable 

exporter of high-quality goods,” Federal 

Trade Minister Dr Craig Emerson said. 

“The Government welcomes China's 

legal recognition of the Australian Made, 

Australian Grown symbol and the benefits 

our exporters will enjoy from additional 

confidence in the Australian brand.” 

The work was carried out by 

Australian Made Campaign Partner, 

EKM Patent and Legal. 

The registration covers seven 

classes of goods (classes 5, 20 and 

29-33). This includes a wide range 

of products including furniture. An 

application for an eighth class of 

goods (class 25, which includes 

footwear and clothing) is still pending. 

The formal registration of the 

AMAG logo in China follows its 

registration in the USA. Registration is 

also pending in Republic of Korea. 

Further information regarding 

classes of goods can be found at 

http://xeno.ipaustralia.gov.au/ 

tmgoods.htm.” ● 

Left: Timbalac director and industry icon, Eric Zeeve. Right: Parliamentary Secretary 

for Education, Inga Peulich. 

the quality finish necessary to combat imported product. He has 

often been frustrated with an industry prepared to use product 

based on price alone and has seen many of those companies 

disappear over the years. 

Mr Ashley pointed out that Timbalac was established in 1992 

at a time when the Industry made a significant investment with a 

joint venture of the furniture training centre in Abbotsford. 

Ashley went on to praise Eric’s relationship with the training 

sector and said that Eric has always supported training – not 

just verbally but with product used in the training program at 

Holmesglen. He added that companies such as Timbalac were a 

vital element in the training of young Australian trades people. 

Ashley quoted industry analyst Phil Ruthven who said that: “It 

will be our best owners, managers and enterprises that will take 

us into the next golden age of prosperity” and that this age was 

“just around the corner.” 

With 20 years of service under his belt, there is no doubt that 

Eric Zeeve and Timbalac are one of those best enterprises and 

will be there to take advantage of any economic upturn.● 


News 

Impact CNC appoints Positive Camtec 

SIGN essentials Pty Ltd, Australian 

distributor of Impact CNC routers, 

has appointed Positive Camtec Pty 

Ltd, based in Silverwater NSW, as its 

exclusive NSW/ACT dealer. 

Impact CNC routers were launched 

in Australia in mid-2011 and offer an 

excellent mix of quality and affordability. 

Sign Essentials has already placed 

multiple installations in the sign, 

aluminium fabrication, woodworking and 

educational sectors. 

“Our clients love the fact that they 

can purchase a fully-featured router at 

a great price with expert local training, 

service and support,” said Sean Strange, 

General Manager of Sign Essentials. 

“With that in mind, the obvious partner 

for us in NSW and the ACT was Positive 

Camtec. Like us, they have over 20 

years experience installing, supporting 

NZ cabinetmaker turns to casket making 

A New Zealand timber 

manufacturer is branching out to 

weather the tough economic times. 

According to Suff.co.nz, Taylormade 

Furniture from Masterton, NZ started 

making solid pine caskets for funeral 

homes two years ago and has seen 

production grow steadily. 

The company is now trying to increase 

its market share by taking on the dominant 

MDF casket manufacturers, offering its 

timber models at a similar price. 

"It actually started by another casket 

maker coming to us for help," said Barry 

Taylor. "We spent 12 months working with 


Sean Strange and Philip Trumble 

and servicing CNC routers. We know 

they will provide the experience and 

expertise purchasers will require.” 

“Our sales and technical staff all 

agree that Impact CNC offers fantastic 

value-for-money,” said Philip Trumble, 

Managing Director of Positive Camtec. 

“Boasting quality engineering and 

a solid build, they are perfect for all 

forms of manufacturing. Coupled with 

components from industry leaders in 

Japan and Italy, Impact CNC has put 

together an unbeatable value-for-money 

offering.” 

Adriano Gut, Sales and Marketing 

Manager of Positive Camtec said: “In today’s 

economic climate, production demands 

quality and durability, yet affordability is 

crucial. With the Impact CNC range we are 

confident we have the right mix of features, 

quality and price.” ● 

them and when they closed up we took 

all that work and put it into production." 

Taylormade makes traditional pine 

caskets, in a market dominated by MDF, 

which accounts for about 90 per cent of 

all caskets. 

The company employs four staff, two 

fully trained tradesmen and two trainees. 

Dean Taylor said their caskets were 

made using a computerised router, and 

could be left with a natural finish or 

stained various colours. 

While there were other timber 

manufacturers, most were aimed at the 

higher end of the market, he said. There 

2012 Olympic 

Games gets 

certification 

The entire London 2012 

Olympic Park development 

achieved dual Project 

Certification from the 

Programme for the 

endorsement of Forest 

Certification (PeFC) and the 

Forest Stewardship Council 

(FSC) schemes for its timber 

usage – the first dual Project 

Certification in the world. 

This groundbreaking 

achievement in sustainable 

timber procurement has played 

a prominent role in helping the 

Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) 

achieve its commitment to making 

the London 2012 Olympic 

Games the greenest games ever 

with 100% of wood products 

supplied certified as legal and 

sustainable. 

The development is being 

hailed as a major achievement 

destined to be a future model 

for timber procurement globally. 

The scheme also saw a unique 

and important partnership role 

played by both PEFC and FSC 

to make sure that the levels of 

legal and sustainable timber 

procured by the ODA achieved 

the highest possible target. ● 

were also environmental benefits with 

pine, which made a difference when 

used on their caskets.● 


Eveneer Essentials 

Economy range of 

reconstructed veneer leaf 

available from Elton Group 

nationally 1300 133 481 

eltongroup.com.au 

Available on board from 

Associated Panel Products 08 8947 1144 

Capital Veneers 02 6299 1557 

J H Wilberforce 08 9340 6222 & 03 9793 7099 

Legno 02 9645 2137 

Plyco 03 9499 4997 

Processed Forest Products 02 9771 5155 

Revolution Wood Panels 07 3205 9182 

Sharp Plywood 07 3271 4511 

Specialty Woods 02 9725 2277 

Timberwood Panels 03 9769 0177 

Veneer Panels 08 8281 3444 & 0414 691 093 

Yates Wood Products 02 9618 3499

News 

New worldwide timber 

legality requirements 

It is now clear to traders 

and manufacturers of timber 

materials, wood products 

and many paper products 

that governments around 

the world are taking an 

increasing role in the fight 

against illegal logging. 

Whatever percentage of 

timber harvesting is illegal in 

one way or another – and 

estimates vary – some key 

governments have decided 

to stop the undermining of 

legitimate operations of 

responsible forest products 

companies. However, their 

approaches differ. 

In the United States the 

longstanding US Lacey Act, 

covering the protection of 

endangered wildlife and 

wild plants since 1900, has 

been amended to include 

the protection of trees against 

illegal logging by making 

any trade found to be illegal 

punishable by law. 

Now the European Union 

has passed legislation, which 

takes effect in March 2013, 

and will prohibit the placing 

of timber harvested illegally 

under the rules of the country 

of origin, and products 

derived from such timber on 

the EU market. The Regulation 

requires operators to undertake 

risk assessment in a process 

of Due Diligence, which 

must be declared in their 

documentation. 

The laws of the USA and 

the European Union are similar 

in intent as they both place a 

prohibition within the importing 

country on trade in wood 

sourced, contrary to laws of 

any other country. Meanwhile 

the Australian Government 

is in the process of enacting 

a Bill which still needs to go 


through Parliament and receive 

the official Royal Assent. 

Once passed, it will place 

requirements on importers 

and domestic raw material 

suppliers to undertake Due 

Diligence to determine the 

legality of a list of regulated 

products. 

Significantly, six countries 

had given inputs to the 

Australian Government during 

a consultation process. The 

proposed Bill has been 

welcomed by most parties, but 

last year an Australian alliance 

of wood industry associations 

appealed for some changes. 

They represent 140 timber and 

wood based product importers 

and 2,500 businesses in 

the merchant and secondary 

processing sectors. 

They accepted the 

proposed Bill in principle, 

but pointed out a few 

changes. What they said 

was: “we believe it should 

substantially stand as it is, 

especially noting that the 

Bill matches or exceeds the 

requirements of the Lacey 

Act and the EU Timber 

Regulation (EUTR) in nearly 

every case. However, we 

have serious concerns 

with regards to business 

compliance burdens, cost 

impacts, impossible time 

restraints for compliance and 

lack of certainty. To correct 

these problems we propose 

five amendments, which we 

do not think would decrease 

regulatory effectiveness, and 

may increase it.” 

Currently these issues 

are under review by the 

government and the general 

view is that, consequently, the 

Bill is unlikely to emerge this 

year. 

In all these cases the 

approaches to solve the 

problem of illegal logging are 

similar and relate to prohibiting 

trade in wood illegally 

harvested in contravention 

of foreign laws, but the 

practicalities are not always 

foreseen. Whereas the 

Australian timber industry has 

anticipated some problems, 

in the US a backlash has 

emerged because of the 

consequences of Lacey. A 

groundswell movement is 

asking Congress to consider 

changing the Amendment, 

following the celebrated case 

of the potential prosecution of 

a renowned guitar maker. 

In 2009, with a new 

administration in power, federal 

agents raided the Gibson 

company offices over wood 

from Madagascar, which was 

suspect, according to the US 

Fish and Wildlife Service. The 

company filed a lawsuit in 

protest and was raided again 

over wood from India. Charges 

of wood being imported 

illegally were countered by 

Gibson's CEO saying that India 

has to approve shipments of 

wood leaving India. 

According to one report: 

“SWAT teams were sent to 

Gibson Guitar's factories to 

confiscate wood and Gibson 

cannot ship guitars at the 

moment. The US Government 

insists that Madagascar law 

requires that the work be 

completed on fingerboards in 

Madagascar. 

So it is with interest that 

many wood exporting 

countries await some 

clarification on the EU 

Timber Regulation. 

The UK’s Timber Trade 

Federation (TTF) launched 

its Responsible Purchasing 

Policy, which it offers as a 

Due Diligence tool following 

members’ vote to make it 

a mandatory condition of 

membership (see www.ttf. 

co.uk). 

Meanwhile there is no 

time to be lost in setting up 

corporate procedures by all 

importers in the 27 European 

Union countries to secure 

the necessary information on 

sources of legal timber and 

wood products; to assess 

any risk of dealing in illegal 

timber and to mitigate any 

risks by requiring additional 

information from their 

suppliers to satisfy the EUTR 

when it goes into effect in 

March 2013. 

The TTF website has a 

countdown clock running 

at 259 days at the time of 

writing. 

Disclaimer: This news brief 

has been produced with the 

financial assistance of the 

European Union. The views 

expressed herein can in 

no way be taken to reflect 

the official opinion of the 

European Union. ● 

For further press information please 

contact Michael Buckley: 

Michael@turnstonesingapore.com 


A range of reconstructed timber 

veneers, factory finished on a 

laminate back, ready for application. 

Featuring Moka Oak with Groove 

finish, a tactile effect that enhances 

the natural depth of the wood texture. 

eltongroup.com 

Available from Elton Group nationally 1300 133 481 

and the following distributors 

ACT Processed Forest Products 02 9771 5155 


NSW Processed Forest Products 02 9771 5155 

NT Associated Panel Products 08 8947 1144 

QLD Sharp Plywood 07 3271 4511 

SA Veneer Panels 08 8281 3444 

TAS Timberwood Panels 03 9769 0177 

VIC Plyco 03 9499 4997 


Veneer Panels 0414 691 093 

WA J H Wilberforce 08 9340 6222

Design & Trends 

KBDi 

Australian Kitchen and 

Bathroom Designer Awards 

The KBDi awards represent an opportunity for specialist kitchen and bathroom designers 

to be judged by their peers. 

KBDi is a national organisation 

providing kitchen designers and 

bathroom designers with professional 

certification, professional development 

and networking opportunities for 

members. 

Each year the KBDi Kitchen and 

Bathroom Designer Awards attracts 

outstanding designers from all over 

Australia, from high profile designers 

who have been in the industry for 

years to those just starting out in 

kitchen and bathroom design. 

“Judges of this year’s awards 

were excited by many of the entries 

that were presented to them for 

consideration,” said KBDi’s Executive 

Director, Alex Milne. “These awards 

represent an outstanding opportunity 

for specialist kitchen and bathroom 

designers to be judged by their peers, 

and overall the awards program 

continues to lift the bar, facilitating 


greater excellence in design in the 

Australian marketplace.” 

Australian Certified Designer of 

the Year 

Accomplished designer Patricia 

La Torre of Outside Inside Building 

Elements in Melbourne took out the 

coveted KBDi Australian Certified 

Designer of the Year for 2012. 

Patricia received her award at a 

glittering gala event held in Sydney 

in July. Patricia’s award was the top 

award of the night. She also took 

home awards for Designer – Small 

Kitchens Victoria/Tasmania and 

Designer – Small Kitchens Victoria as 

well as Kitchen Designer of the Year – 

Victoria/Tasmania. 

Patricia’s winning entry had the 

hallmarks of design excellence. Her 

clients, owners of a beautiful Victorian 

period home, sought an open design 

for their kitchen that acknowledged 

the needs of a young family and 

a lifestyle of constant entertaining. 

They wanted their kitchen to be 

complementary to a new and modern 

building addition and to be the hub of 

social activity, while not compromising 

on function. 

Inspiration for the design 

commenced with a prominent oak 

tree in full view from the surround 

glass of the atrium in the home. 

Timber veneer formed part of the 

cabinet finishes, matching the oak 

tree perfectly, while Grigio Bellisimo 

marble further complemented the oak 

to become the conversation piece. 

The vast island bench that includes 

storage to the front of the island 

specifically for the children’s activities 

looks out onto the beautiful garden, 

family and play areas. The pantry 

system allows ease of access and 


appliances easily slip away when not 

in use. 

The opportunity to break away and 

create a unique ambience, specific to 

the surrounding environment is displayed 

in the glass splashback motif, which 

echoes the oak tree: the copper colour 

of the large leaf splayed across the 

glass connects to the copper and gold 

veins in the magnificent marble. 

The award judges said that this was 

a well-conceived award entry of a 

technically high standard. The design 

showed a simple but bold use of colour, 

effectively demonstrating that ‘less 

is more’. The kitchen sits well in the 

surrounding space and the light panel 

adds a little ‘rock and roll’ that reflects 

This page: Patricia La Torre 

of Outside Inside Building 

Elements took out the coveted 

KBDi Australian Certified 

Designer of the Year for 2012. 

Opposite: Eileen Middleton 

Interiors won the KBDi 

Australian Kitchen Designer of 

the Year for 2012. 

the interests of the client. Overall, 

the judges said the client brief was 

interpreted very well. 

Australian Kitchen Designer 

of the Year 

Eileen Middleton (Eileen Middleton 

Interiors) was awarded the KBDi 

Australian Kitchen Designer of the Year 

for 2012. 

Presented by Tamara Buchanan 

of SMEG Australia, this award 

acknowledges excellence in kitchen 

design and innovation. 

A spacious, open plan kitchen 

designed for entertaining with 

style and that reflects a mix of 

contemporary and eastern design 

elements was required by Eileen 

Middleton’s clients. 

The judges said that Eileen Middleton 

had successfully created a space that is 

sleek but casual – a real home with a 

real kitchen. Interesting and practical, 

all principles of kitchen design were 

incorporated: timber detailing adds 

texture and interest; clever use of lattice 

screens creates privacy and adds a 

graphic element; the splashback shows 

a different interpretation; and use of line 

in the island complements the floor. 

Eileen Middleton also received 

awards for Designer – Large Kitchens, 

Queensland 2012, Kitchen Designer of 

the Year – Queensland and Designer – 

Large Bathrooms, Queensland. 16


15 

Australian Bathroom 

Designer of the Year 

Sam Robinson, of Royston Wilson 

Design, was awarded the KBDi 

Australian Bathroom Designer of the 

Year for 2012. 

Presented by Julie Shaw, Executive 

Officer of Designer Training which 

specialises in delivering nationally 

recognised training to the Australian 

kitchen and bathroom industry, this 

award acknowledges excellence in 

bathroom design and innovation. 

Sam Robinson’s clients especially 

wanted more light and a modern 

space, because the existing bathroom 

was cramped and dreary. A large 

window was added for natural light, 

and extensive use of strategically placed 

mirrors and a mirror ball over the bath 

provide more light and reflection. 

The vanity unit appears to float and 

the bench top protrudes through the 

shower screen to become a shower 

shelf. The drop-in bath has strong simple 

lines and all surfaces are seam free. A 

simple angled blade of glass delineates 

the shower area, with the shower head 

mounted flush to the ceiling. 


Earlier in the night, Sam Robinson 

also took home the awards for Designer 

– Small Bathrooms Victoria/Tasmania 

2012 and Bathroom Designer of the 

Year – Victoria/Tasmania. 

Australian Unique Project of the 

Year – joint winners 

This year joint winners for the coveted 

KBDi Australian Unique Project of the 

Year were announced. 

Due to the entries being so diverse, 

the judges found it difficult to choose 

a single winner and impossible to 

separate two of the finalists. 

Therefore this year’s joint winners 

were Royston Wilson were Robert 

Bayly. Trophies and certificates to 

Royston and Robert were presented 

by the award sponsor, Kitchen and 

Bathrooms Quarterly. 

“This special award celebrates 

those projects that sit outside of 

kitchen or bathroom categories,” said 

KBDi, Alex Milne. “Our designers are 

creative, professional and versatile 

so it makes sense to showcase the 

special projects they undertake. And, 

on this occasion, it was impossible 

for the judges to separate the two 

winners whose projects were in 

domestic and commercial settings 

respectively,” he said. 

Royston Wilson’s Toorak custom 

designed and built entertainment 

and display unit is located in a 

large family room that adjoins a 

kitchen and informal meals area. 

The clients sought an exciting, 

unique and modern unit with plenty 

of storage and display areas. 

Design challenges, like the heat 

given off from the fireplace and 

TV, had to be solved. The final 

effect speaks for itself: a unique, 

interesting and practical piece. 

Robert Bayly’s brief was to design 

a new concept showroom for SMEG 

highlighting its branding. A number 

of requirements were specified 

including the provision of a working 

kitchen and flexible open spaces for 

functions and cooking sessions. 

The design solution was based 

on zoning Smeg’s appliance groups 

and orientating them to room size 

constraints, invisible lines of traffic 

flow and street view. 


Above: Joint winners for the KBDi 

Australian Unique Project of the Year 

were (from top) Royston Wilson and 

Robert Bayly. 

Opposite: Sam Robinson, of Royston 

Wilson Design, was awarded the 

KBDi Australian Bathroom Designer 

of the Year for 2012. 

The 2012 winners 

Australian Certified Designer of 

the Year 

Patricia La Torre, Outside Inside 

Building Elements 

Australian Kitchen Designer of the 

Year 

Eileen Middleton, Eileen Middleton 

Interiors 

Australian Bathroom Designer of 

the Year 

Sam Robinson, Royston Wilson Design 

Australian Unique Project of the 

Year – joint winners 

Royston Wilson, Royston Wilson 

Design and Robert Bayly, RB Design 

www.suppliermagazine.com.au 

Outstanding Student of the Year 

Helen Baumann 

Kitchen Designer of the Year 

NSW – Erika Forster, White Door 

Design 

QLD – Eileen Middleton, Eileen 

Middleton Interiors 

VIC/TAS – Patricia La Torre, Outside 

Inside Building Elements 

SA – Tony Warren, TMA Kitchen 

Design 

WA – Maggie Milligan, Town & 

Country Kitchens 

Bathroom Designer of the Year 

NSW – Gavin Hepper, Concepts by 

Gavin 


Middleton Interiors 

VIC/TAS – Sam Robinson, Royston 

Wilson Design 

SA/WA – Janine Izzo, Brilliant SA 

Designer - Small Kitchens 

NSW – David Bartlett, Art of Kitchens 



SA/WA – Maggie Milligan, Town & 


Designer - Medium Kitchens 

NSW – Erika Forster, White Door 

Design 

QLD – Kim Duffin, Sublime 

Architectural Interiors 

VIC/TAS – Lindsay Williams, Mint 

Kitchens by Lifestyle 

SA/WA – Haris Bahtiyarov, Alby 

Turner & Sons Kitchens 

Designer - Large Kitchens 


Gavin 


Middleton Interiors (Highly 

Commended, Lee Hardcastle, Enigma 

Interiors) 



SA – Tony Warren, TMA Kitchen 

Design 

WA – Maggie Milligan, Town & 


Designer - Small Bathrooms 

VIC/TAS – Sam Robinson, Royston 

Wilson Design 

QLD – Helene Newson, The Brisbane 

Bathroom Co. 


NSW – Elizabeth Luke, Luke Interiors 

Designer - Large Bathrooms 



Gavin 

VIC/TAS – Katrina Luxton, Royston 

Wilson Design 


Middleton Interiors ● 

SupplierSept/Oct 2012 | 17

Tel: 03 9590 0706


Nikpol – helping to ensure 

a healthy environment 

Nikpol is committed to managing its business in a responsible manner including 

environmentally responsible procurement of wood-based products to help ensure a 

healthy environment for now and future generations. 

In an effort to simplify the process 

of finding and specifying products 

that meet high environmental and 

sustainable standards, Nikpol has 

created the ARC product collection. 

This collection was launched to 

the industry on FSC Friday, 28 

September, a day when people are 

invited to consider the wood and 

paper products they buy and to 

look for the FSC logo, the mark of 

responsible forestry. 

“The ARC collection represents 

another positive step towards simpler 

sourcing of sustainable certified 

products and Nikpol’s commitment 

to significantly expand the range 

of FSC certified materials available 

in Australia,” explained Nikpol’s 

Managing Director, Spiro Nikolakakis. 

“Timber is one of the world’s most 

environmentally friendly building 

products and we are fully behind the 

FSC certification system as the world’s 

best forestry practice. Our role is to 

take the lead in the strategic direction 

of market procurement and activity.” 

All products that appear under the 

ARC banner are guaranteed to meet 

the following third party certification 

standards: 

• FSC Chain of Custody; 

• 0.3mg/l (Super E0) or lower in 

accordance to the relating AS/ 

NZS product standards; 

• low or no volatile organic 

compounds (VOC). 

The ARC range includes melamine, 

reconstructed veneers and plywood, 


all of which are sustainable, 

formaldehyde free and Green Star 

compliant. 

Melamine – Nikpol has sourced 

some of best decor colour and finishes 

available on the world market. In 

doing so, Nikpol has been able to 

match this with an FSC 0.3mg/l 

(Super E0) formaldehyde low VOC 

MR particleboard substrate. The 

product also contains 25% of post 

consumer wood product that allows for 

a sustainable product in the market. 

Reconstructed veneers – constructed 

using veneers that are dyed to 

achieve rich colours. The production 

process allows unlimited scope for 

producing colours and grains with 

dimensional, flowing characteristics. 

Reconstructed veneers overcome the 

limitations of natural logs, are easy to 

manufacture and are environmentally 

friendly. Made from poplar timber, 

the veneers are selected from FSC 

managed, sustainable forests. 

Due to the sourcing of the raw 

material veneer material through Slice 

Veneers, Nikpol has the opportunity 

to lay the veneer on a FSC 0.3mg/ 

l(Super E0) formaldehyde low VOC 

MR particleboard, as well as a FSC 

Rock Maple Purebond soy based glue 

line with no formaldehyde or VOCs. 

Plywood – Rock Maple PureBond 

plywood comes in sheet size of 

2440 x 1220mm and 3050 x 

1220mm and ranges in thickness 

from six to 30mm. It is manufactured 

using PureBond technology utilising 

formaldehyde-free, soy-based 

adhesive. The hardwood plywood 

panels have no added urea 

formaldehyde components and are 

assembled with no added urea 

formaldehyde adhesives. 

PureBond veneer-core panels are 

made in the US and Canada and are 

cost-competitive. 

Green Star – The ARC range by 

Nikpol range give the maximum 

contribution to the Green Star Office 

Interiors V1.1 rating system – IEQ 12: 

Formaldehyde minimisation. 

Nikpol’s commitment to sound and 

sustainable environmental practice 

has seen the company adopt rigorous 

standards to ensure they provide a 

transparent and verifiable sourcing of 

all wood based products. 

With full FSC chain of custody 

certification, Nikpol offers its clients 

the assurance of FSC certified 

materials that meet the stringent 

demands of FSC for environmentally 

appropriate, socially beneficial and 

economically viable management of 

forests. 

Nikpol’s commitment to FSC and 

sound environmental management 

extends into every aspect of the 

business – from the products sold to 

the company’s own office environment 

and materials. Its expertise and 

implementation of FSC standards puts 

the company at the forefront in interior 

materials supply and a valuable 

asset to design, construction and 

architectural firms across Australia. ● 


The premier collection of 

certifi ed and sustainable 

interior décors. 

www.nikpol.com.au/fsc

Strangford design 

Tel: 03 9590 0347 Mob: 0414 370 200 

email: info@strangford.com.au 

www.strangford.com.au

Interior 

Design Service 

No need for any more expensive complicated hard to learn design software. 

Strangford design can help bring your visions and ideas into reality, with the aid of the latest 3D visualisation 

software. Our 3D designers can turn your clients vision into a 3D coloured render giving your client a realistic 

image with accurate measurements and the colours and textures of the proposed kitchen, bathroom or any 

interior layout . Our service allows your clients to understand every aspect of the proposed design and layout 

before commencement of the manufacturing. 

Whether your clients home lends itself to a traditional, contemporary or modern style our design team can 

provide on even the smallest of details. 

We offer a two tier service, draw only where we you provide all measurements and a sketch of the interior 

required or our full design service were we fully design and draw to suit your specification. 

Our turnaround time from receiving your order is within 3 working days and delivered direct to your email 

inbox. 

Strangford design provide drawings and plans Australia wide to quality designers and manufacturers but always 

within the strictest of confidence. 

We will provide 5 3D angle shots and one floor plan 

Your logo and your customers name on each drawing and plan.

Business 

Times are tough: 

who can afford 

an ad agency? 

When many marketers 

think of advertising 

they think of consumer 

advertising... typically on 

TV – big businesses like 

Kellogg, Unilever and Nestle 

advertising to end-users/ 

consumers. This is called 

Business to Consumer 

advertising or B2C. 

B2C advertising can be 

very effective but requires big 

spending, often in the millions. 

The vast majority of 

businesses in Australia, 

however, are actually Small 

to Medium Enterprises or 

SMEs which deal principally 

with other SMEs; in other 

words, businesses advertising 

to businesses. This is 

called Business to Business 

Advertising or B2B. 

B2B advertising is very 

important, not just to those 

businesses but to the entire 

economy and, while it follows 

some of the same principles 

as B2C advertising, it is on a 

different scale and usually uses 

different communication tools. 

The budgets are lower and 

arguably have to work even 

harder to generate a return on 

investment. 

There are advertising 

agencies who specialise in 

B2B communication and who 

have experience, expertise, 

tools and, very importantly, 

cost structures that are geared 

to the needs of SMEs. 

Business decisions in SME 

B2B advertising are still based 

on human emotions but tend to 

be more fact-based and detail- 


oriented. The communication 

tools used reflect this and 

often involve print and digital 

communications, which have 

a lower cost of entry and are 

capable of carrying detail 

and flexible in that different 

messages can be tailored to 

discrete markets. 

Many B2B advertisers have 

very effective advertising 

programs targeting their 

business customers with 

budgets in the tens of 

thousands of dollars rather 

than millions. 

OK, you say, but that’s still 

money that is hard to find 

in this environment…,and it 

probably is – but when it is 

tough for everybody then this 

is the time when it is often 

most effective to promote your 

business… when everyone 

else has pulled their horns in. 

After all the difference in 

a boom market and a tough 

one is often a few percentage 

points. Markets don’t usually 

disappear they just shrink a bit 

and the marketers who fight 

for market share are not just 

the survivors but are brilliantly 

placed to grow spectacularly 

when the market recovers. 

So, how will an advertising 

agency help? 

Supplier Magazine 

talked to Chris Boseley 

of Beyond Advertising, a 

company specialising in B2B 

advertising for SMEs, usually 

through digital and print 

communications, to expand 

on what they could contribute. 

Chris said: “Manufacturers 

and marketers often think of 

their business 99.9% of the 

time but they are lucky if they 

can get their customers to think 

of their business 0.1% of the 

time. Much B2B advertising 

reflects the advertiser’s needs 

through the advertiser’s point 

of view. The right advertising 

agency will help you see your 

business through the eyes of 

your customer so that you 

can work together to position 

and promote your company 

or brand with communication 

that talks to your customer’s 

needs”. 

For example, The Solution 

Specialists, who were 

licensed distributors in the 

CAD and CAM kitchen and 

bathroom fabrication software 

business, called themselves 

Solspec and marketed a 

range of brands – Alphacam, 

Cabnetware, CabinetVision, 

Radan and Planit all delivering 

similar products through other 

sub-branded distributors in 

different states. 

Solspec retained Beyond 

Advertising. 

Chris Boseley said that 

Beyond helped Solspec look 

past their complex branding 

and distribution system and 

see the market from their 

Left: BEFORE - When 

Solspec first approached 

Beyond Advertising, 

they were marketing a 

plethora of brands and 

promises. 

AFTER – Planit became 

single minded in its 

direction – resulting 

in more concise 

and powerful 

communications. 

customer’s eyes. After a 

full market audit, Beyond 

persuaded Solspec to clarify 

and concentrate their offering 

into one core brand – Planit. 

This allowed Planit to have 

a clear identity with all the 

communication (and budget) 

focussed on one clear brand 

positioning and promise. This 

happened in the same tough 

market we are all operating 

in today. The marketing and 

advertising program cost 

no more than Solspec were 

spending on their previous 

multi-brand strategy but laid 

the foundations that helped 

double the size of the business 

in two years. 

“If your business turns over 

$2+million then you can 

afford the professional advice 

of an advertising agency 

and you probably need that 

advice,” said Chris. “There 

are advertising agencies 

like Beyond who have the 

expertise to really help your 

business grow with affordable 

cost structures. 

“We are an SME too. 

We also operate in a B2B 

environment. We know the 

value of a dollar and how 

to make every cent work 

effectively for our clients.” ● 


�� 

� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

� 

�� 

�� 

� 

�� 

� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

� � � �� 

� � � �� 

� 

�� 

� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

� 

�� 

�� 

� 

�� 

��

Business 

Is your business 

running you? 

“To get ahead you need to work on your 

business rather than in it”. 

By Jurgen Mennel 

We have all heard this 

before. Why is it, then, that 

many small business owners 

are getting consumed by the 

hands-on operation of their 

business and end up feeling 

overwhelmed, stressed and 

frustrated? 

Why is it that people so 

passionate about their craft 

are often struggling to run a 

successful business? 

Business operators get 

caught up in the day-to-day 

tasks and, before too long, 

start to think that the purpose 

of their life is to serve the 

business. The main point of 

any business, however, is to 

serve the owner. 

So what can be done? 

Well, any business should 

be built so that it can run even 

if the owner is not there. 


With the right mindset and 

business skills it is easier than 

you may think. Building a 

business that way requires 

planning and of course a bit 

of work. Depending on the 

current situation it may also 

require a substantial amount 

of change but it will be well 

worth the effort. Imagine you 

get your business to the stage 

where it can run without you. 

A good way to get started 

is to imagine that you are 

building a prototype business 

for a franchise – a business 

you can replicate many 

times over. One of the keys 

to making this happen is 

to implement systems that 

everyone can follow. Once in 

place, these systems will allow 

your staff to create consistent 

results with minimal effort. 

Rather than relying on highly 

skilled staff or your own hard 

work, relatively low skilled 

personnel can complete the 

job. 

Getting systems in place 

and teaching your staff how 

to run the systems will allow 

you to pass on tasks, which 

previously only you could do. 

This is certainly not a new 

concept and many business 

owners have come across this 

before. They have great plans 

but still find themselves getting 

caught up in the day-to-day 

operation. Consequently they 

never develop their business 

to it’s full potential. In other 

words, they fall back into 

the “working in the business” 

mindset. 

The real breakthrough will 

come if trade and business 

skills are combined with the 

right mindset. Combining all 

three elements is the secret to 

business success. 

The right mindset will keep 

you focused and working 

on the business side of 

the equation. Habits and 

company cultures practiced 

over many years have to be 

tackled in order to successfully 

implement such fundamental 

changes. Allowing yourself 

to pass on certain tasks 

to someone else may be 

challenging – after all, you 

have built your business from 

the ground up. It may feel like 

you’re letting go of control. 

It goes against every fibre of 

your being but, herein lies the 

trick. Allowing your staff to 

take on the job will ultimately 

pay dividends and will be 

well worth the effort. 

A great business coach 

will be able to help you take 

your business to the next level. 

Make sure you pick a coach 

who can help you with your 

mindset and develop new 

business skills. ● 

Jurgen Mennel is an author, coach and 

mentor for tradesman. His Wealthy Tradesman 

Blueprint is a free 12 step guide 

to building wealth and a great lifestyle 

through your business. 


CMA news 

By Richard Brooks, Cabinet Makers Association Inc. 

The executive members 

of the Cabinet Makers 

Association (CMA) and the 

recently launched Cabinet 

Makers and Designers 

Association (CMDA) wish to 

compliment AWISA on the 

professional manner in which 

the exhibition was conducted 

and the support that they 

provided to many industry 

parties during the event. 

AWISA can be assured 

of CMDA’s continued 

support of future events and 

we know that those who 

visited the exhibition gained 

significant benefit from the 

diversity of the exhibits and 

the networking opportunities 

available. 

The opportunity to 

attend an event such as 

AWISA also allows industry 

associations to have wider 

contact with industry and 

to receive feedback on 

current industry issues. The 

fact that this event was also 

the first public exposure of 

CMDA meant that a broad 

range of national issues 

was discussed. In recent 

discussions at both CMA and 

CMDA executive meetings 

the feedback received has 

been discussed and will now 

be key items in the objectives 

of the association over the 

coming months. 

The marketplace and the 

state of trade 

There is no doubt that our 

industry is currently facing 

some of the most difficult 

trading conditions in recent 

years. It was generally felt 

that the industry withstood 

the global financial crisis 

reasonably well and a 

combination of government 


initiatives and housing 

construction in most states 

meant that the fear of a 

significant downturn did 

not occur. This situation, 

however, has changed 

significantly in the past 12 

months with many businesses 

reducing staff numbers, 

working reduced hours and, 

unfortunately, in too many 

cases closing down. 

The other side to the story 

is that there are businesses 

that are having difficulty 

coping with the volume 

of work that they have on 

their books. This situation 

of two extremes is probably 

the most pronounced that 

I’ve seen in my working 

life and really challenges 

the industry to look at the 

reasons behind the disparity 

that exists. 

The activities of the FCJ 

Alliance are very much 

focused on looking at the 

ways in which the industry 

needs to change if it is to 

survive and prosper in the 

future. The alliance launched 

an overview of the key issues 

facing the industry at AWISA 

and, in many ways, those 

issues are reflected in the 

extremes that currently exist 

within the industry. 

You are encouraged to 

download a copy of the FCJ 

Alliance brochure from the 

www.cmda.org.au website 

and to provide feedback on 

your thoughts of the issues 

raised. 

During AWISA many 

visitors to the CMDA stand 

raised the issue of imported 

products and the distribution 

of cabinetry by retail stores 

as being a significant 

contributor to the current 

market situation. Many 

encouraged the introduction 

of trade barriers while others 

questioned the quality of 

some of the products being 

distributed. 

The CMDA has a strong 

view that there are particular 

issues that need to be 

addressed to ensure a level 

playing field. However, it 

is recognised that neither 

side of Federal politics will 

support trade barriers and, 

accordingly, imports are 

something that we must to 

learn to live with. This does 

not mean, however, that 

there is nothing that can be 

done. CMDA’s commitment 

is related to the objective 

of ensuring a just and level 

playing field – in other words 

all parties in the supply chain 

should be required to comply 

with the same regulations, 

standards and warranty 

conditions. 

Australian Standard 

4386.1 & 2 Kitchens 

A priority for industry is a 

review of the Australian 

standard to ensure that all 

Associations 

parties have an informative 

document that can be used 

as a benchmark for the 

manufacture of cabinetry. 

Currently Standards Australia 

is finalising the technical 

committee, which will be 

responsible for the updating 

of the current 1996 

standard. This update will 

be significant in that it will 

recognise the changes that 

have occurred in the industry 

over the past 15 years 

including the introduction of 

new materials and hardware 

as well as manufacturing 

techniques. 

A key objective of industry 

should be to promote 

compliance with the 

reviewed standard whenever 

possible and that the 

standard be used as a key 

reference point in any dispute 

that occurs with regard to 

cabinetry. Currently the 

standard is not mandatory as 

it has not been adopted by 

either the Australian Building 

Codes Board or the ACCC 

in their codes/policies. 

CMDA will be promoting 

the fact that its members are 

SupplierSept/Oct 2012 | 27 

28

Associations 

27 

required to comply with the 

relevant Australian Standards 

and that failure to do so will 

be considered as a breach 

of its Code of Conduct. 

Registration/licensing 

Recently a campaign has 

begun in Victoria where a 

member of the CMA has been 

challenging businesses that 

are not complying with the 

registration requirements in that 

state to either comply or be 

challenged as to their legality. 

The same member has 

raised the fact that as an 

industry there are a significant 

number of cabinet makers and 

designers (including members 

of the various legitimate 

industry associations) who are 

not complying with the relevant 

state legislation. 

Accordingly, the CMDA 

membership structure is being 

designed to ensure that those 

businesses that comply with the 

relevant state legislation are 

recognised differently to those 

that are ‘technically’ purely 

design or manufacturing based 

and not licensed/registered to 

conduct on-site building works. 

Does this mean that CMDA 

will not support businesses 

that are unlicensed/ 

unregistered? Definitely 

not. However, if we, as an 

industry, are to challenge the 

new distribution networks and 

promote our expertise we 

must ensure that we also are 

above reproach. Accordingly 

CMDA intends to work with 

members that are not fully 

compliant to assist them 

to achieve compliance in 

the shortest possible time. 

This will involve access to 

industry specific support 

as well as training where 

absolutely necessary (often 

the individual/business meets 

the necessary requirements 

but does not know how 

to present or substantiate 

them). 

Furniture industry 

training 

The furnishing industry 

training package is 

currently being reviewed 

by Manufacturing Skills 

Australia and a number of 

industry representatives are 

being consulted. CMDA 

encourages you to visit 

the Manufacturing Skills 

Australia website (www. 

mskills.com.au) and look at 

the documentation regarding 

the review of the furnishing 

package located under 

current projects. 

CMDA considers it most 

important that the furnishing 

industry maintains the specific 

trade competencies that 

enable workers in the industry 

to produce high quality, 

often one-off, furniture and 

cabinetry. There has been 

a tendency in recent years 

to promote the adoption of 

more generic skills and it is 

the view of CMDA that this 

will ultimately result in the deskilling 

of the industry. 

CMDA Awards are now 

open 

Entries are now open for 

the CMDA awards with 

finalists to be announced in 

December and the prestigious 

national awards to be 

presented at the inaugural 

CMDA conference to be 

held in Melbourne during the 

period 5 – 7 April 2013. 

These awards will include 

state winners as well as the 

presentation of the Australian 

Cabinet Maker of the Year 

Award. 

Full information regarding 

the awards is available at the 

CMDA website (www.cmda. 

org.au) or by contacting 

the association at awards@ 

CMDA.org.au. 

CMDA membership 

Information regarding the 

CMDA is available on 

the CMDA website. A 

special offer is available 

to all readers of Supplier 

Magazine to join the 

association as a foundation 

member and receive a 

number of extra benefits 

combined with a reduced 

membership fee. 

CMDA stresses that its 

objective is the promotion 

and further development 

of the industry and it has a 

commitment to work with 

allied organisations to 

achieve that objective. 

CMDA is managed and 

run by people who have 

extensive experience in 

the cabinet design and 

manufacturing industry and 

is committed to its further 

development – it is about 

industry representatives 

fighting to ensure the future 

viability of our industry. 

For further information 

please contact Richard 

Brooks at the association on 

1300 767 738 or by e-mail 

to richardb@cmda.org.au. ●

Awards 

Membership includes industry specific benefits including eligibility 

to enter our CMDA Annual 

Celebrating Excellence 

in Craftsmanship 

CABINET MAKERS AND 

DESIGNERS ASSOCIATION 

LIMITED TIME 

MEMBERSHIP SPECIAL 

for Supplier Magazine readers! 

Save on CMDA Membership! 

Join CMDA by 31 November and receive: 

12 months membership and a 

Foundation member’s certificate. 

Don’t Delay, $330 incl GST 

Don’t Miss State Finalists presentation 

December 2012. CMDA “Cabinet Maker 

of the Year Awards” presented April 2013. 

p: 1300 767 738 f: 03-8640 0474 a: PO Box 424, Eltham, Victoria 3095 e: info@cmda.org.au w: www.cmda.org.au

AWISA Review 

I was fortunate to visit the 

German Ligna fair last year 

and was interested to see 

what technology made its 

way "down-under." In my 

opinion, AWISA treated us 

very well and everything 

we need was on show and 

available. 

2012 may not seem like 

a good time to invest in the 

latest technology but with 

imported goods becoming 

cheaper and wages still 

high, now is exactly the time 

when technology dollars are 

well-spent. Replacing labour, 

offering the customer more 


AWISA 2012, 

the return 

It seems like an eternity since the last AWISA trade show in 2008 

but, in fact, only one show was missed. For us technophiles, the 

last four years seemed like a lifetime. 

By Phil Ashley, Teaching Centre Manager, Furnishing Programs, Holmesglen TAFE, Victoria. 

and reducing production 

costs is really what AWISA is 

all about. 

AWISA occupied four 

halls at the Darling Harbour 

exhibition centre. Homag 

and Biesse along with 

Gabbett, which stayed away 

this year, are still the "bigthree" 

in my opinion, and this 

is where the larger cabinet, 

shop-fitting and office 

furniture manufacturers spend 

their money. 

Major manufacturers no 

longer buy one machine: 

they are more likely to look at 

the big picture, plan well and 

install a complete engineered 

manufacturing solution. 

Exchange rates are good at 

the moment and now is the 

time to buy. 

CNC equipment is still big 

business at AWISA. Suppliers 

included Biesse, Homag 

and Thermwood with an 

impressive array of three, four 

and five-axis equipment. 

Woodtron (Geoff Sellman) 

seems to be a big mover 

currently with 70 machines 

installed in Melbourne 

alone. The larger Woodtron 

machine tables allow for 

loading and unloading at 

the same time. Something 

different about Geoff's flatbed 

machines is that the 

electrics are not incorporated 

into the frame so there's less 

heat and more room in the 

frame for bracing. The bed 

of the machine is fitted with a 

30mm steel plate! 

Multicam was, once 

again, a major exhibitor at 

the show. In fact, if I am not 

mistaken, Multicam had the 

only Australian-made CNC 

machine at AWISA. This year 

the machine featured a simpler 

controller, if that is possible. 

The last one was so easy 


to use that it took about ten 

minutes to learn. Interestingly, 

most of the other machines of 

this type have disappeared or 

were absent this year. 

A few years ago, fiveaxis 

CNC machines were 

the exception but they are 

becoming increasingly more 

common. They are even 

appearing in some trade 

schools. These machines 

usually have only one 

spindle that can move in 

five directions at the one 

time. It "future-proofs" your 

company if your equipment 

can produce everything your 

customers can think of. The 

previously expensive German 

Homag machine can be had 

for around $300,000 – a 

very reasonable price for 

such technology because a 

few years ago you would 


have spent almost twice as 

much. In recent years, user 

demands and competition 

has resulted in a lot of 

development to reduce the 

cost of machinery. This top 

end equipment is now also 

made by some new players. 

Felder in particular is doing 

very well with its own line of 

CNC machines and several 

new installations have been 

very successful. 

Homag is one of the 

major suppliers, especially 

for machines for panel 

production. This year the 

company showcased its 

"intelligent" factory. Their 

engineers have cleverly 

integrated their equipment so it 

is possible to produce complex 

jobs with minimal labour costs. 

Highlight of the system is the 

Bargstedt material handling 

equipment that intelligently 

organises the storage, retrieval 

and processing of your stock 

of materials. 

I have recently looked 

at this technology for my 

workshop and can see 

the enormous benefits of 

letting technology make 

the decisions. The system 

takes care of your entire 

stock, including off-cuts, 

and controls what is being 

processed from the store to 

assembly. At the Homag 

stand, the Bargstedt held 

all of the information for the 

Holzma saw, the Weeke 

CNC and the Brandt 

Ambition edge banding 

machine on show. 

A couple of interesting 

machines available from 

Biesse were the vertical 

CNC processing machines. 

The EKO902 from BreMa 

(a Biesse company) and the 

Skipper V31 offer a very 

good processing solution 

using a fraction of the floor 

space required for a fullblooded 

CNC solution. I 

saw a similar machine way 

back in 1989 but these two 

modern machines have been 

refined and offer a very 

good, low-cost drilling and 

routing solution for the lowvolume 

cabinet maker. 

Small these machines 

may be, but they still 

offer ten vertical and six 

horizontal spindles and a 

routing spindle to boot. 

They are ideal for most 

kitchen manufacturers and 

complement the wide 

range of nesting equipment 

available through Australian 

distributors. 32 


AWISA Review 

31 

Weinig Australia used 

to sell only through-feed 

moulding machines. These 

are also copied widely but 

you don't see many of the 

copies around. Weinig 

has diversified and now 

sells a range of machinery 

for solid wood and panel 

processing. One very 

interesting development is 

the plug and play Cube. This 

innovation makes short work 

of planing and thicknessing 

wood on four sides. You 

are most likely to see one 

of these at Bunnings where 

their woodworking skills are 

limited and the requirement 

for safety is high. 

The machine was 

developed from a multispindle 

four-side planer. It's 

a simple machine and easy 

to set up. Even the cutter 

change is as simple as it can 

get. The material size can be 

set from a touch screen or a 

laser can be projected onto 

the wood to determine what 

size can be recovered from 

the piece. Weinig says the 

process is ten times quicker 

than separate surface and 

panel planing machines. 

The Cube occupies less floor 

space, saves 60% of your 

dust extraction energy costs 


and the machine can be 

moved around with a pallet 

jack. 

Altendorf clearly had the 

most generous floor-space 

even though only eight 

machines were on display. 

This premium German panel 

saw manufacturer has been 

under some pressure of 

late with the introduction of 

nested based manufacturing 

and almost everyone else 

copying their machines. 

However, the company 

has hit back with the new 

Altendorf_2 prototype. The 

machine is yet to be offered 

for sale, over a year since 

I first saw it at the 2011 

Ligna exhibition in Germany. 

Altendorf is still evaluating 

the new machine but it is 

taking far too long – we 

want to see it on the market. 

The Altendorf technology has 

been proven for decades 

and the company had a 

1930s machine on display 

to prove it, so maybe the 

company is yet to identify the 

market for the new machine. 

Edge banding machines 

are a major investment 

for cabinet makers. You 

could start with a Cehisa 

edge banding machine for 

$15,000 from Gregory 

Machinery. If you want 

corner rounding, the PC plus 

at $35,000 is probably the 

best price you will get on 

an edge bander with corner 

rounding. For a few thousand 

dollars more you can move 

to the more substantial 

KDT-465 edge bander from 

Leda Machinery with the 

same capability but heavier 

and longer and with a much 

larger PC control. From 

here, the sky is the limit as 

machines can hit the million 

dollar mark. 

Spending this much on a 

machine where the product 

(the glued edging) is on 

critical display can cause 

some concern. Edge banders 

can be troublesome at the 

best of times, ask anyone 

who's used them. Check the 

cabinets in your kitchen – 

chances are you will be able 

to see a dark line between 

the panel and the edge 

applied to it. It's important 

that the glued edge be as 

good as possible. It is here 

that the leading suppliers are 

doing the most research. 

An innovation featured at 

this year’s show included 

PUR (polyurethane) edge 

banding. Most of the major 

edge-bander suppliers have 

machines capable of using 

the PUR (Kleiberit, Döllken 

and Jowat adhesives) glue 

technology and a number of 

machines have already been 

installed in this country. The 

glue is applied at a higher 

temperature than traditional 

hot-melt (EVA) glue, and 

strengthens its bond over 

several days to achieve 

much higher bond strength. 

The re-melt temperature is 

much higher so it resists delamination 

in hot situations 

such as oven surrounds. 

The process uses 40% less 

glue than hot-melt so it saves 

production costs and you 

get a much thinner glue-line; 

about half as thick as hotmelt. 

The drawback to using 

PUR is that the glue starts to 

“go-off” once it’s exposed 

to air so it's mostly used by 

volume manufacturers and the 

machine hardly ever stops. 

On larger equipment the 

glue tank is removed each 

night and placed in a tank 

of liquid nitrogen to keep 

it fresh. Interestingly, on the 

Holz-Her machine (Weinig) 

the PUR glue is applied from 

either a cartridge or small 

pellets from a sealed unit and 

this costs considerably less. 

This machine can use both 


34

AWISA Review 

32 

hot melt and the PUR glue on 

the same machine. 

It is possible to make 

the glue-line disappear 

completely. To achieve this 

amazing result you need 

to go to edging where the 

“glue” is activated by a 

laser. I use the term “glue” 

loosely because the edging 

is manufactured with a 

coating that is activated by 

laser and bonds with the 

particle board. A bonding 

process does take place but 

no glue is added. The inside 

of the edge tape already 

has the “adhesive” substance 

applied to it. 

Very few companies are 

using this technology so the 

edging is only now starting 

to be imported. This really 

is an expensive operation 

Whatever your requirements small 

or large, there’s an Onsrud router 

designed to meet them. 

Australian Agents 

MPB Engineering 

30-32 South link 

Dandenong South, VIC 

(03)9702 7933 

mpbengineering.com.au 


Whatever Your 

Requirements, Onsrud 

Has a Solution! 

with the laser technology 

costing a quarter of a million 

dollars on top of the cost of 

the machine. However, the 

application speeds are very 

high so companies such 

as Polytec can justify the 

expense based on volume 

sales. The kitchen and 

bathroom industry is very 

strong in this country and 

customers are demanding the 

very best high-gloss surfaces 

with no defects – especially 

unsightly glue lines. 

After seeing this costly 

technology at Ligna, I was 

surprised to see that the 

Schugoma company of 

Germany has developed 

a system that activates 

the “laser” or functional 

edge of the tape with high 

temperature at a quarter of 

Work piece capacities 

run the gamut, with 

our medium and 

large-frame machines 

boasting table weight 

capacities up to 

1 ton. The range 

of capabilities for 

Onsrud Routers 

is as varied as the 

machine capacities. 

Features include highperformance 

spindles 

with standard speeds 

of 1,000-24,000 rpm, 

optional 25,000 and 

even 30,000 rpm; and 

high-torque spindles 

up to 40 HP! 

the cost. The system can 

be retro-fitted to any edge 

banding machine. It's called 

"fusion technology" and 

is available from Beyond 

Tools. For me, this was one 

of the highlights of AWISA 

along with the biggest inkjet 

printer I have ever seen. The 

Cojet machine from Wood 

Tech prints images onto any 

surface and I can see huge 

potential for the shop-fitting 

industry. 

A major change to the 

theme of this year's show 

was that of design. Design 

sells and customers expect 

the very latest in trends and 

modern convenience. A 

substantial part of AWISA 

was taken up by hardware 

and panel suppliers including 

Hettich, Hafele, Blum, Borg 

(Polytec and Parbury), Salice, 

Lincoln Sentry, Nessco (WA), 

Wilson and Bradley and 

EGRdecor. 

These companies occupied 

far more floor space than 

previous shows and their 

displays were amongst the 

busiest at the show. Each one 

offers soft-closing drawers 

and doors and most offer a 

range of gadgets that would 

keep any salesman rattling 

on for hours. Other features 

include remote controlled 

lifting and sliding doors, popup 

benches, corner drawers, 

swing out pot drawers, inbuilt 

vacuum cleaners, mood 

lighting and so much more. 

Of course, machinery 

doesn't cut wood without a 

tool (cutter or saw). Leitz has 

further developed its lownoise 

range to include a new 

aluminium pre-milling cutter 

for edge banding machines. 

The noise reduction of 

5dB(A) is significant and 

the low weight is easier on 

the machine bearings. The 

new Rip Tech technology 

won the Sequoia award 

for environmentally sound 

wood processing at the Las 

Vegas trade show last year. 

A combination of rippled 

and straight knives produces 

outstanding results on the 

most difficult timbers. 

From Leuco comes the 

high precision nesting tool 

mounted in a hydro chuck for 

speeds up to 30,000 RPM. 

You get the same result with 

the Tribos chuck but you can 

change the Hydro chuck 

yourself. I would like to have 

seen Leuco’s new “P” system 

tools at AWISA. These were 

released at Ligna and made 

quite an impact. 

The cutting tools feature 

edges with an angle of over 

55 degrees, hence the “P” 

for peeling. They work like 

a knife where the chip is not 

chopped off, but peeled. The 

peeled chips are finer and 

lighter, and produce a superb 

finish when used either along 

or across the grain. 

The three biggest trade 

shows held at the Sydney 

exhibition centre are the 

Boat Show, Motor Show 

and AWISA, in that order. 

Late next year the exhibition 

centre at Darling Harbour in 

Sydney will be demolished 

to make room for a bigger 

and better facility. AWISA 

General Manager, Geoff 

Holland shares our disbelief 

that Australia is able to 

demolish a perfectly good 

facility after only 24 years 

of service. The venue for the 

2014 and 2016 shows is 

yet to be announced but the 

association has committed 

to the return of the bi-annual 

show. 

What AWISA represents 

is a showcase of our 

manufacturing sector and 

a driver for change and 

optimism. On that criteria, 

AWISA was a resounding 

success.● 


Innovative drawer systems 

from Hettich 

A full drawer range to suit any design 

German engineered for superb design and function, Hettich’s drawer range offers 

flexibilty of design and simple installation. With the security of Hettich’s lifetime 

warranty, storage spaces will work beautifully for years to come. 

MultiTech - Sturdy single wall steel drawer system 

§ Now with easy to install soft close unit and activator 

§ Cabinet widths up to 900mm only require one unit and activator 

§ Suitable for partial and over extension drawers 

§ Handles loads up to 30kg 

InnoTech - Quality double wall steel drawer system 

§ The only partial extension integrated soft close drawer on the market 

§ Plus, full extension integrated soft close system 

§ Handles loads up to 70kg 

1800 HETTICH 

hettich.com.au

AWISA Review 

Gold Star Awards 

Supplier Magazine set out to look at as much of the new technology at the AWISA show 

as time would allow. We asked regular contributor, Philip Ashley of Holmesglen TAFE to 

use his vast experience and knowledge to choose those items he believed would merit 

the inaugural Gold Star award at AWISA 2012 and to comment on his choices. 

While Philip pulled no 

punches and was supercritica, 

he came up with 

a number of products that 

epitomise the very best, 

most innovative inventions 

and ideas available to the 

Australian manufacturer. 

His final selections don't 

include nesting machines 

or software because he 

belives that nesting machines 

have been around for many 

years and variation is really 

the only difference while 

software is usually specific to 

the user and the benefits are 

often subjective. 

The winners 

The technology boom of 

the last 20 years may have 

slowed but it's far from over. 

Testament to this were the 

numerous great products on 

display at this year's AWISA 

show including: 

Cube: Weinig Australia 

This machine, a variation 

of the traditional four-side 


planer, is an important 

contribution by Weinig 

in simplifying a relatively 

complex process at a 

cost-effective price. It also 

represents a contribution to the 

environment due to a saving 

of 60% off your dust extraction 

energy costs. 

True, it's not a machine for 

everyone but in a situation 

where your workers skills are 

low, or the safety of customers 

is an issue, but the Cube is an 

innovation. Weinig has even 

tilted the machine over so the 

wood slides naturally towards 

the fence. Yes, we know it 

won't produce moulded wood 

but the local hardware store 

will go nuts over the Cube. 

How much more simple can 

it get? 

Fusion Technology: 

Beyond Tools 

Fusion technology enables 

the adhesion of laseractivated 

edge bandings 

for invisible glue lines at a 

fraction of the laser cost using 

high-heat application. OK, 

so much for the rhetoric and 

at first we did not believe 

this technology was real. 

We thought Beyond Tools 

(the supplier) were telling 

us what we wanted to hear 

and that it could not possibly 

be as good as a real laser 

application. We were so 

sceptical that we went across 

to Homag, sought out a 

German who did not know 

us and asked him about it. 

He told us that Homag had 

actually bought one and that 

they were testing it. Homag 

believe it's worth looking into 

and that's good enough for 

us. A sample piece convinced 

us the technology works. 

For our industry, the Fusion 

technology developed by 

Schugoma saves a fortune 

and produces fantastic results. 

ArciTech drawer system: 

hettich Australia 

This innovative drawer 

system looks to the future 

market trends with modular 

design, exceptional stability 

and smoothness even under 

extreme loads. We agree 

that most manufacturers offer 

smooth running and softclosing 

drawers so nothing 

new here. However, the 

ArciTech drawer does what 

the others do and contributes 

a low carbon footprint during 

manufacture. A new factory 

was built to produce this 

and, with three years of 

development, testing to 

80,000 cycles, a modular 

platform and prism runners, 

Hettich appear to have 

covered every angle. 

ArciTech is a high 

end product with no 

compromises that will surely 

become a benchmark 

product. 

holz-her PUR Cartridge 

edge banding: Weinig 

Australia 

PUR cartridge allows edge 

banding with hot melt and 

polyurethane adhesives on 

the one machine and offers 


flexibility, quality and lowcost 

to the manufacturer. 

Most PUR machines need 

a $30,000 pump to feed the 

glue and a nitrogen tank to 

store the glue system overnight. 

Consider a gas-handling 

licence and the time it takes 

messing around with the 

system and PUR becomes a 

very expensive technology. 

The Holz-Her PUR cartridge 

stays solid until it meets the 

heating element and can 

be used for longer periods 

of time. Hot melt glue can 

reportedly be used in the same 

system, hence the term "hybrid" 

technology. 

Altendorf_2: Altendorf 

Australia 

This machine is a radical 

departure from traditional 

panel saw or beam saw 

design and represents a 

significant contribution to 

lateral thinking in panel 

cutting technology. With an 

open mind you could say the 

machine was developed as 


an experiment and the length 

of time it's been in the testing 

stage may bear this out. 

The machine is, howeve, 

the most unique panel saw 

we have ever seen. It can be 

operated from both sides and 

the material can be cut like 

a normal panel saw or like a 

beam saw. Unfortunately it will 

not cut a 3.6 metre sheet but 

it's very safe when using the 

overhead beam and safety 

curtains, and has a laser to 

indicate where the saw will 

cut. 

Anderson (Cojet 2612) 

Printing Machine: Wood 

Tech Australia 

The Cojet printing machine 

is a very expensive printing 

machine and at 1440 by 

720 DPI will take an hour to 

print seven square metres. 

However, this machine has 

From left: Hettich's 

Arcitech drawer system; 

Altendorf_2 by Altendorf 

Australia 

Top (from left): The 

Coject 2612 printing 

machine by Wood Tech 

Australia; The Biesse 

Skipper. 

many possibilities 

in the design and 

production of product 

for the shop-fitting 

industry. We can imagine 

shopfronts printed with 

customised logos and other 

eye-catching designs. We 

had a panel produced and 

the relief on the printed 

design was quite amazing. 

It's new, it's different and 

it has the ability to turn a 

normal job into something 

quite outstanding. 

Finalists 

In addition to the six Gold 

Star awards, we were 

impressed by several other 

products. 

We liked the circular 

sanding pad for hand-held 

random orbital sanders 

distributed by Kory Dubay 

manufacturing. Bob Kory now 

has a disk called Abranet that 

has no dust extraction holes. 

The disk is actually a fine 

woven mesh and the fine dust 

is removed through the disk. 

It’s a fantastic product, there is 

virtually no dust, there are no 

holes that can tear and leave 

marks on your work, and 

they last twice as long as a 

conventional sand-paper disk. 

One of the major safety 

considerations for wood 

workers is that of noise. Noise 

causes industrial deafness and 

exposes your company to high 

legal costs should a claim 

be made against you. Any 

tool that reduces noise is a 

good investment. For standard 

woodworking machines, a 

spiral low-noise cutter-head 

supplied by Robert Gregory’s 

can be retro-fitted. I've actually 

done this to two thickness 

planers and they are really, 

really quiet. 

Felder launched its own 

spiral innovation, the Silent 

Power cutter-head at this year's 

show. Someone said it was 

"dangerously quiet." 

We also recommend the 

Leitz low-noise pre-milling 

cutter and OptiCut sawblades. 

We thought the vertical 

CNC machines from both 

Biesse and Homag were 

interesting little machines and 

could see a use for the smaller 

wood worker. The technology 

is not new, in fact it's over 20 

years old, BUT for occasional 

use in tight spaces, they both 

have merit. 

And while we said we 

would not look at nesting 

machinery for a Gold Star 

Award, we would still like 

to mention Geoff Sellman's 

Woodtron machine with its 

massive construction, unjoined 

electrical cables and jointventure 

manufacturing. 

Congratulations to all the 

award winners and finalists.● 


AWISA Review 

Biesse stand 

buzzing 

The Biesse team were kept 

busy as they showcased 

new innovations at AWISA 

through a vast selection of 

machinery on display – and 

the response from visitors was 

one of intrigue and surprise. 

Visitors were generally 

impressed by the competitive 

nature of Biesse’s price point 

as well as the growth and 

flexibility of Biesse Group’s 

range since the last AWISA 

they attended in 2006. 

The Biesse Group has over 

40 years of technology 

and research under its belt 

and the general impression 

was that machines of such 

high quality and reputation 

would be priced accordingly. 

Instead, the same technology, 

which was developed for 

larger machines such as the 

Rover CNC nested router, 

has been applied to smaller, 

more affordable models 

in recent years and so the 

range on offer is able to 

cater for organisations of 

various sizes and budgets, 

without compromising quality. 

The Rover A G FT, a 

numerically controlled 

complete nesting solution, 

was the main feature of 

the Biesse stand. The Rover 

was equipped with options 

such as automatic loading 

of panels, automatic panel 

labelling and sweeping 

arm to push the job to 


an automatic unloading 

conveyor – features that 

certainly drew the crowds. 

When discussing the 

machine set up many 

interested viewers considered 

the machine to be too big or 

technically advanced for their 

budgets. However, when 

their enquiry turned to price, 

they were generally amazed 

at the affordability of such 

advanced technology, and 

being able to purchase 

smaller CNC routers such as 

the Klever or the Skill was 

also a welcomed proposal 

for owners of smaller 

businesses. 

Similarly, Biesse’s range 

of edgebanders on show 

included the new Spark for 

entry level businesses, Akron 

for mid level production and 

the Roxyl for high speed in 

more high production factories. 

These all attracted interest 

from owners and purchasing 

managers due to the variety of 

sizes, speeds and options that 

allows them to customise their 

purchase for the requirements 

of their production facilities 

and, even more importantly, 

their budgets. 

Another new product to the 

Biesse range that surprised 

visitors was the Smart 

S400 panel saw. Although 

the panel saw was not 

operational at the show, many 

enquiries from seasoned as 

well as first-time buyers were 

a result of Biesse’s initiative 

to accommodate more of the 

market with a high quality 

product. Equipped with 

features such as a tilting saw 

blade and suitable to cut 

solid wood, plywood, MDG 

board, particleboard and 

various kinds of laminated 

boards, the Smart 400 has 

a compact structure and is 

able to size panels with high 

precision. 

The Skipper V31, a unique 

vertical drilling and routing 

machine combines flexibility 

and performance in a small 

space. The vertical panel 

structure ensures ergonomic 

and comfortable panel 

loading and unloading and 

the machine is controlled 

and managed by a 

new generation control 

PC system. This modern 

software interface makes 

it programming easy and 

efficient. Live demonstrations 

of the Skipper at AWISA 

2012 were popular and 

showed just how easy it is to 

operate thanks to the laser 

photocell that automatically 

reads the panel reference 

and the real panel length. 

Interest in the Intermac 

Master 33 stone waterjet 

cutter came mainly from 

manufacturers who currently 

outsource segments of 

their production, such as 

granite bench tops and 

stone sink reserves. The 

ease of use and flexibility of 

the machine was on show 

with technicians on hand to 

educate and inform viewers. 

With outsourcing costs 

taken into consideration, 

many manufacturers were 

able to the see the return on 

investment benefits of owning 

their own waterjet CNC. 

Overall, AWISA 2012 

was a successful venture for 

Biesse Group. The stand 

had a constant flow of 

visitors over all four days 

of the exhibition – both 

repeat clients and new ones. 

They were keen to absorb 

information about Biesse’s 

most recent innovations, view 

live demonstrations or catch 

up on some software training 

at the software booth. 

For those who didn’t 

get a chance to view a 

demonstration on a particular 

Biesse machine at the expo, 

Biesse Group will be holding 

open house events in its 

Brisbane, Melbourne and 

Sydney showrooms in the 

near future. ● 


PICK.. MOVE.. FEED.. boards or benchtops or doors or .. 

Supplier1011c 

The down-shop 

Gantry installation 

Feeding on and off a Biesse 

Move 

Benchtops 

TAWI systems are the original and still the market leaders. 

A very wide range of standard systems are available to 270kg. 

Special adapted feet and systems are developed in Melbourne. 

An example for doors...........> 

Be confident using our highly experienced team! 

Request an on-site trailer demonstration, 

showing an erecting column and track arm! 

Head Office VIC - Tel: (03) 9457 8260 Fax: (03) 9457 7695 

www.kockumsbulk.com.au 

< 

> 

Highly efficient 

and rugged 

vacuum pumps 

are used for the 

connection 

and the grip. 

Light design trackarm systems for ease of move 

NSW & QLD, Vince on 0417 132 313 

Southern states Bryce on 0417 350 526

Perfect edging 

Hightech for perfect edging 

More automation. More fl exible. More stable. 

� Glu Jet hybrid technology 

Ultra-fi ne glue line with peerless 

fl exibility 

� More automation 

Up to 20 NC servo-axes with a 

positioning accuracy of 1 / 100 

mm 

� M o r e fl e x i b l e 

Six series and more than 30 

units for your application 

p ro fi le s 

Weinig Australia Pty Ltd 

Phone +61 2 9609 5911 

Email weinig@weinig.com.au 

Zero joint with 

thin fi lm technology 

� More stable 

Exceptional stability – 

welded base frame design 

� Profi t from 50 years of 

HOLZ-HER technological 

leadership in edgebanding 

HOL_ANZ KAM 1_2 hoch_Austr_90x260_RZ.indd 2 13.09.12 15:57 


AWISA Review 

Introducing 

Bryko edgebanders 

Founded in 1956, Cehisa 

is a Spanish family 

company that was originally 

established to produce an 

array of basic woodworking 

machinery. However, over 

the years the company has 

prospered to become an 

internationally renowned 

business completely 

devoted to the production of 

edgebanding machinery. 

From 1975 the Cehisa 

brand (pronounced in 

Australia as ‘sah–he-sah’) 

began distributing around 

the world. Now managed 

by the second generation 

of family members, Cehisa 

edgebanders are considered 

a leading product for quality 

and design innovation within 

every market in which they 

are represented. 

Traditionally Cehisa’s 

core business has been 

the manufacture of large 

industrial edgebanders suited 

to high level production 

workshops. For example, the 

Cehisa 800 series is able 

to apply 22 millimetre thick 

edge strip with ease. 

After developing and 

resolving these industrial 

types of machinery, Cehisa 

realised a market opportunity 

to produce a medium to 

small edgebander that 

carried all the features of 

their big brothers and, in 

2009, released the first 

range of Bryko edgebanders 

(pronounced ‘bree–co’). 

These compact machines 

have revolutionised 

edgebanding with their 

array of standard features, 

quality of build and cost 

effective pricing. Since the 

initial launch of Bryko several 

models have been released, 

the latest offering being the 

Bryko PC Plus. 

The PC Plus is the most 

comprehensive machine 

in the series with its 

combination of simplistic 

design and solid reliability 

matched with a full suite 

of machining applications. 

Equipped as standard is 

a diamond tool premilling 

unit. Edging of freshly cut 

composite boards needs 

to occur immediately to 

achieve a perfectly flat edge 

as swelling can occur due 

to atmospheric moisture. 

Pre-milling means the edge is 

trimmed as the edge material 

is applied thus a perfect 

finish is guaranteed. 

Pre-milling also assists 

in elimination of glue lines 

and the operator does not 

need to distinguish between 

top and bottom faces of 

the panels. The PC Plus 

is supplied with a Teflon 

coated hot-melt glue tank 

fitted with an electronic 

thermostat. The Teflon 

coating makes cleaning the 

unit very straightforward 

and the thermostat assists in 

accurately managing glue 

temperature throughout the 

working day. Automatic 

feeding for strips up to 2mm 

thickness is standard so a 

single operator can load and 

unload the machine on 95% 

of projects. 

A nice touch is the high 

frequency twin saw end 

trim unit. Unlike guillotine 

trimmers, saw trim units will 

not stretch the edge material, 

which results in creeping 

of the applied tape. After 

trimming each edge is then 

finished off with corner 

rounding, again another 


standard feature which 

enhances the final result. 

As would be expected the 

PC Plus has top and bottom 

trimming unit, horizontal/ 

vertical tracers and numerical 

indicators for adjustments. 

There is also a LCD control 

display for easy viewing. 

Surface buffers are also 

Storage bins 

The introduction of three new 

features has brought to six 

the number of new models 

in the existing Hideaway Bin 

range. 

The new patented Air 

Vent System from Hideaway 

bins aims to maximise bag 

volume. Four U-shaped air 

vents have been designed 

into the lip of the bucket, 

which allows trapped air to 

escape as the bag is pushed 

into the bucket cavity. This 

will eliminate the frustration 

of trapped air restricting 

the liner, maximising bag 

volume. A liner holds 

the bag in place without 

covering the air vents, so 

trapped air can escape as 

the bag fills. 

standard, which give that 

“ready to hang” result. 

Brought together all these 

features pack a real punch 

for the smaller operator 

giving them leverage against 

the larger manufacturer. 

Gregory Machinery Pty Ltd 

is the Australian distributor for 

Cehisa. ● 

The new 40 litre bucket 

range includes both single 

and double hidden bin 

solutions. The double 

bin solution provides a 

whopping 80 litres of 

storage. 

All Hideaway Bins are 

designed to be mounted 

at bench height and pull 

out towards the operator, 

allowing easy disposal of 

waste without having to bend 

low. The introduction and use 

of the additional side mount 

supports will ensure the unit 

holds up to the challenge of 

a busy kitchen. 

Hideaway bins are 

suitable for kitchen, laundry 

and storage in both domestic 

and commercial situations. ● 

Design and 

Manufacturing Software 

The REAL Solution is all about effective 

automation to achieve the lowest 

production costs with the lowest overall 

software / IT expense. 

Automation will simplify the manufacturing 

process, lower the required skill level in the 

shop, get the products made faster, cheaper, 

easier and 100% right every time, no matter 

what the product is. 

Spectacular Kitchen-Bathroom-Bedroom Design, 

Online Planner • Pricing and Quotations 

Total product customisation • Cut To Size Parts 

Parts Editor • MDF Door Manufacturing 

Accurate Material Estimates and Production Processing Times 

Connects to all Machines 

The Ultimate Kitchen, Bedroom 

and Bathroom Design Solution 

Increase your sales potential with ArtiCAD’s professional 

presentations and stunning graphics. ArtiCAD produces 

fully dimensioned plans, drawings and layouts. 

Phone: +612 9980 7011 

Email: info@quickcam.com.au 

www: www.quickcam.com.au

AWISA Review 

Successful show 

for Hettich 

The 2012 AWISA Expo held 

in Sydney from July 11 to 

14 was an unprecedented 

success for Hettich, with 

nearly double the number 

of leads gathered from 

the 2008 event and the 

unveiling of Hettich's latest 

innovation, the ArciTech 

Drawer System. 

“Nearly 7,000 people 

visited AWISA this year, 

which just goes to show 

there is still plenty of life in 

the industry – and Hettich is 

proud to be a leader in terms 

of innovation and quality,” 

said Marketing Manager for 

Australia and New Zealand, 

Dave Angus. 

Undoubtedly the highlight 

of AWISA for Hettich was the 

unveiling of the brand new 

ArciTech Drawer System. 

The stand was designed to 

allow visitors to view, and 

experience, the full range 

of Hettich products before 

the final reveal of the new 

ArciTech product, with strong 

interest from guests as they 

experienced the ArciTech’s 

design flexibility, innovation 

and functionality first hand. 

“The ArciTech Drawer 

System has been developed 

to help kitchen manufacturers 

position themselves for the 

future, directly benefiting 

from Hettich’s commitment to 

innovation and design. The 

ArciTech models on display 

were equipped with Hettich’s 

famous soft close technology 

which, when combined 

with ArciTech’s exceptionally 

smooth running action, 

created the perfect drawer 

system,” said Angus. 

“The crowd’s reaction to 

the ArciTech was beyond 

what we thought it would be. 


We anticipate the ArciTech 

is going to be in hot demand 

when it becomes available 

on the Australian market next 

year,” he added. 

In addition to the new 

ArciTech range, Hettich’s new 

products and applications 

included: 

• extensions to the Magic 

lighting range; 

• bathroom and vanity 

innovations with a make 

up cabinet using Sensys 

hinges, Magic lighting 

and InnoTech drawers; 

• the Intelligent Kitchens 

concept with new 

MultiTech soft close option 

and the InnoTech platform 

concept; 

• use of Hettich products in 

an entertainment unit; 

• the full Sensys range with 

new Flash cup; 

• Pro Decor handles 

displayed in the four trends: 

Deluxe, New Modern, Folk 

and Organic; 

• the ever popular WingLine 

230 bi-fold door system in 

a home office environment, 

and the new TopLine M 

sliding door system in a 

laundry set up. 

“Our new products on 

display this year at AWISA 

really impressed the guests. 

Many visitors came to the 

Hettich stand after hearing 

positive feedback they had 

heard from other visitors at 

the expo, so it was a great 

word-of-mouth exposure!” 

said Angus. 

"We couldn't be happier 

with the success of the 

AWISA expo. It's going to 

keep our sales team very 

busy, and set us up for a 

positive year going into 

2013.” ● 

From top: 

The new ArciTech 

Drawer System. 

A make up 

cabinet using 

Hettich’s Sensys 

hinges, Magic 

lighting and 

InnoTech 

drawers. 

Hettich’s 

Marketing 

Manager for 

Australia and 

New Zealand, 

Dave Angus. 


Hardlam launched 

Increasing levels of 

reservation have lead to 

a reduction in the area of 

native forest Australia. This in 

turn has lead to a decrease 

in the availability of largediameter 

high sawn timber 

and veneer. As a result 

there is growing interest in 

engineered wood products 

as a practical alternative. 

Officially launched at 

AWISA 2012, Hardlam is 

an exciting new laminated 

veneer lumber (LVL) product 

developed by Forestry 

Tasmania along with some 

industry partners. 

Hardlam is a sustainable 

value-added product that 

utilises small-diameter poorquality 

logs that would 

otherwise be converted to 

woodchips. It is made from 

Tasmanian native forest 

timbers resulting in a product 

of exceptional strength, 

durability and beauty. 

It is made up of rotary 

peeled veneer where the 

individual veneers are glued 

together with the grain 

orientated along the length 

of the panel (as opposed to 

plywood where the grain 

direction alternates). The 

superior strength of Hardlam 


means that it can be resawn 

to produce a surface 

appearance similar to either 

quarter-sawn or back-sawn 

timber. 

Hardlam is available in 

Standard or Premium grades 

– standard grade means 

certain features including 

knots, gum vein, patches 

or filler will be permitted 

at no cost to structural 

performance. In contrast, 

these features will not be 

permitted in Premium grades, 

this product being most suited 

to high-value appearance 

grade applications. 

Hardlam is also very 

versatile and can be used 

in a range of structural 

and appearance grade 

applications. Where 

supplied unfinished, Hardlam 

may be planed or sanded, 

painted or stained. ● 

Above: Forestry 

Tasmania’s Managing 

Director, Bob Gordon 

launched the new 

Hardlam product at 

AWISA 2012. 

Furniture made from 

Hardlam on display at 

AWISA. 

think diamond think diamond 

Leitz Tooling Systems 

Sharpening Costs for all 

ZI + I D.P. Routers 

$150.00 

www.leitz.com.au 

think 

DIAMOND 

Special 

Offer 

$375 

DIA 18mm NL 43mm 

$325 


$245 


Free Freight 

ALL INTERNET oRdERS ovER $50 

SALES 1300 135 127 

Order online: 

www.leitz.com.au 

All prices ex-GST. Valid to 31st December 2012. 

think diamond think diamond 


AWISA Review 

Hafele shows 

clever solutions 

With one of the 

busiest stands at 

AWISA, Hafele 

displayed a huge 

range of product 

to the cabinet 

making and furniture 

manufacturing 

industries. 

Among the many innovative 

products Hafele displayed, 

the Convoy Lavido from 

Häfele with its straight 

forward and open 

approach was one of the 

highlights. 

Extremely flexible and 

elegant, Convoy Lavido 

illustrates just how versatile 

the Convoy system can be. 

Because it is compatible 

with any front panel, 

Convoy Lavido is the ideal 

storage solution for all kinds 

of layouts – even behind 

sliding doors. 

Convoy Lavido is not just a 

means of storing products: it 


ensures they are presented in 

an attractive and emotionally 

appealing way. This elegant 

pantry unit is not only 

supremely suitable for use 

in any modern kitchen but 

can also be used in clever 

applications for areas as 

diverse as dining and living 

room furniture or even in the 

workplace. 

Convoy Lavido benefits 

include: 

• storage solution for 

different front options and 

applications; 

• can be combined with 

sliding doors; 

• access and transparency 

from three sides. 

The Complete Häfele 

comes to iPad 

The Complet Hafele 

catalogue is now available 

as an iPad app. Now 

you can access everything 

Häfele has to offer anytime, 

anywhere. You’ll be able 

to present the best design 

concepts and products to 

clients, and show them 

Scribing made easy 

The Thingamejig scribing 

tool came about because 

cabinet makers and builders 

were frustrated with the 

current methods used to 

scribe and fit cupboards, 

benchtops and skirting 

boards. The majority of 

these trades use methods 

that are clumsy, inaccurate, 

dangerous and frustrating. 

These methods were ‘ad 

hoc’ and did not use a 

dedicated tool designed for 

scribing. 

Thingamejig Precision 

Tools has filled the void with 

a patented method that now 

makes scribing fast, easy 

and accurate. 

The tool was designed by 

a professional cabinet maker 

who regularly fitted kitchens, 

bathrooms and other home 

and commercial furnishings. 

This design was brought to 

life with prototypes that were 

tested for over three years. 

It was then refined through 

consultation with design 

engineers and cabinet makers 

with a combined unsurpassed 

experience and expertise. 

The result, a tool that 

how they look in real-life 

installations. You can even 

order products for your 

project: whether you are in 

the office, on the job site or 

on the go. 

Häfele iPad app benefits 

include: 

• mobile ordering facility; 

• the ability to create a wish 

list and email your ideas to 

a client on the spot; 

• easy access to view all 

Hafele catalogues via a 

wifi/3G connection, or 

download the catalogues 

so you can access them 

anytime; 

• keep up to date with all 

of the latest information 

24/7. ● 

will allow both expert 

and beginner to take their 

craftsmanship to the next level 

whilst saving time. 

The Thingamejig scribing 

tool is constructed with 

lightweight anodized 

aluminium so it won’t rust, 

with the blades made from 

highly durable tungsten 

carbide. To ensure precision 

results, the tool’s measuring 

ruler has been laser cut with 

a choice of imperial or metric 

indicies. 

Other features include: 

• xcribes laminates, painted 

Items, stone, soft metals, 

timber, veneers and more; 

• single handed use, freeing 

up one hand to steady the 

item being scribed; 

• increased occupational 

health and safety by freeing 

up one hand when scribing 

while standing on a ladder; 

• ability to accurately retrace 

your lines; 

• reduces the chipping of 

paint/laminate when 

trimming; 

• reduces chipping when 

scribing and trimming 

across the timber grain. ● 


edge 

EDGEBANDING tEchNoloGy GIvEs you coMPlEtE coNtRol 

Is speed, reliability and a quality edge too 

much to expect from your edgebander? 

We don’t think so. 

With over 55 years experience 

manufacturing edgebanders, the SCM 

Group have the answer you’re looking for, 

from entry level to the most sophisticated 

systems available. 

Get an edge on the competition. 

gabbett machinery pty ltd 

gabbett machinery pty ltd 

www.gabbett.com 

Sydney 02 9831 5044 

sydneysales@gabbett.com 

melbourne 03 9763 2555 

melbournesales@gabbett.com 

brisbane 07 3899 1288 

brisbanesales@gabbett.com 

At Gabbett, we can give you the best in 

precision integrated systems, backed by 

exceptional local experience and service. 

We are here to support your business. 

Call your local Gabbett office today to find 

out why you should be looking at an 

SCM edgebanding solution. 

adelaide 08 8445 6077 

adelaidesales@gabbett.com 

perth 08 9470 5525 

perthsales@gabbett.com 

auckland 09 828 4530 

aucklandsales@gabbett.com 

christchurch 03 377 3795 

christchurchsales@gabbett.com

AT LAST! Your one-stop-shop for 

reconstituted engineered wood veneers 

at prices you can afford. 

u More than 20 popular and contemporary colours available ex stock 

u All colours – just one price 

u All boards - good both sides at no extra cost 

u Full utilisation of length – cost effective 

u Sizes: 2800 x 1200 x 19 (Not 2700) 

2500 x 1200 x 19 (Not 2400) 

u ON E.O.H.M.R particleboard 

u 22mm & 50mm fleece backed unglued edge strip available in all colours 

u Easy to use sample books u Easy to identify large samples 

INDIAN TEAK 

Samples shown in natural and finished colours – No surprises. 

Your client will know exactly how the finished product will look.

u Any thicknesses available on request with 3 to 5 day turn-around – 

good both sides at no extra cost 

u Available good 2 sides on multilayered plywood (finish 19mm thick) – 

perfect for a high class cabinet door. 

u Available on Nikpol Eurolite shelving on request 

NAME ORIGINAL AND AUSTRALIAN EQUIVALENT 

Brazilian Nod Ristretto (Eveneer) 

Brown Oak Almond (Eveneer) 

Carbon Ravenna (Eveneer) 

Cathedral Dusk Original (518c) 

Charcoal Grey Aniseed (Eveneer) 

Coal Seam Grenada (Nav) 

Cream Wood Milkwood (Eveneer) 

Cumulous Storm (Nav) 

Desert Drift Original (043s) 

Driftwood Original (1059s) 

French Oak Parisian Oak (Eveneer) 

Grey Oak Saltwood (Eveneer) 

Hickory Romano (Eveneer) 

Indian Teak Original (003s) 

Limed Oak Limewood (Briggs) 

Nutmeg Brown Makybe (Nav) 

Sea Salt Original (897s) 

Smoked Oak Original (2639c) 

Smoked Walnut Walnut (Eveneer) 

Winter Palisander Original (767s) 

White Oak Original (886c) 

Unglued 50mm and 22mm edge strip available in 50 L/m rolls (fleece backed) 

= AUSTRALIAN COLOUR = ORIGINAL COLOUR 

FSC APPROVALS PENDING | PEFC APPROVALS PENDING | GREEN STAR APPROVALS PENDING 

SLICE VENEERS PTY LTD ACN: 157 734 640 

5 APSLEY PLACE, SEAFORD VICTORIA AUSTRALIA 3198 

T 03 9776 9099 F 03 9785 3666 M 0418 331 438 

Website: www.sliceveneers.com.au 

Email: sales@sliceveneers.com.au

Timber & Veneers 

At 74 years of age and 

after 50 years in business, 

Greg Letho is embarking 

on a whole new venture 

– marketing and selling 

reconstituted wood veneer to 

architects, project builders, 

cabinetmakers and the shop 

and office fitting industry 

– under the name of Slice 

Veneers. 

This range of 24 colour 

wood veneers will have 

environmental and FSC 

approval and is available 

ex stock already pressed on 

to particleboard – either on 

both sides or one side with a 

balancing back. Each colour 

is available at the same 

price, making quoting on 

jobs that much easier. 

Greg Letho is well 

known to the industry for 

his established business, 

Timbermatic Doors. A 

leader in contemporary 

door design, the business 

manufactures its ranges using 

wood veneer, solid timber 

and aluminium. Timbermatic 

also produces curved panels 

and doors, solid timber and 

veneer benchtops, veneer 

panelling and furniture to 

order. 

“I became involved in 

this new venture because 

I was finding the veneers 

available to me were just too 

expensive,” said Greg. 

“I am also aware that 

environmentally sound and 

sustainable Green Star 

projects are, in the long 


A venture 

into veneers 

By Greg Letho 

term, the way of the future 

and this product is ideally 

suited for environmentally 

sensitive projects because it 

‘ticks all the environmental 

boxes’. This allows an 

architect to choose it freely 

over and above sensitive or 

‘questionable’ natural timber 

veneers that can come from 

all over the world and whose 

origins are sometimes difficult 

to trace. 

“By starting this business 

venture, I also saw an 

opportunity to include two 

of my most loyal employees. 

These young men in 

their 30s, who did their 

apprenticeships with me, are 

now involved in a business 

that has the potential to 

carry them into the future – 

hopefully with me along as 

a mentor for as long as I am 

able.” 

Greg has two enthusiastic 

distributors for his veneers 

– Nikpol and Dorset, both 

of which are established 

in most states. Nikpol is a 

family company with over 

30 years experience in the 

residential and commercial 

joinery market. It particularly 

targets architects, large 

project builders and 

developers and has a 

strong presence within the 

cabinetmaking industry. 

Dorset primarily supplies 

cabinetmakers in Victoria 

and South Australia and, 

over the years, has built a 

strong and loyal client base. 

So why the new venture? 

Over the last 10 years, 

Timbermatic moved from 

manufacturing traditional 

solid timber doors into 

developing a range of 

contemporary styled wood 

veneer doors as fashions 

changed. 

“I also noticed that 

cabinetmakers wanted to 

do less in-house, moving to 

outsource what they could,” 

explained Greg. 

“We soon found ourselves 

involved in all kinds of 

work such as solid timber 

and veneer bench tops 

,boardroom tables and 

all types of speciality 

veneer pressing as well as 

manufacturing high quality 

cabinet wood veneer 

furniture. 

Occasionally we made 

a very high quality veneer 

or timber kitchen, speciality 

timber and veneer entry 

doors, or oversize sliding 

doors, veneer wall panelling, 

and so on. 

“In fact, we became 

known for ‘doing what the 

cabinetmaker won’t or can’t 

do’,” he explained. 

“Increasingly, we began 

pressing more and more 

reconstituted veneer but I was 

constantly struggling with the 

ridiculous cost of the veneer 

required to do the job.” 

To add insult to injury, 

about three years ago, 

Greg’s two main suppliers 

told him that he no longer 

had an account with them 

because he was too small 

thus forcing him to go 

through a larger supplier. 

“This became increasingly 

difficult and I started thinking 

how I could change this 

impossible situation,” Greg 

said. 

In early 2011, Greg’s wife 

mentioned that her brother’s 

friend was in charge of 

an international factory 

employing 3500 people that 

manufactured engineered 

wood veneer and asked if he 

had any interest in this. 

“Wow! Did I have some 

interest!” he said 

“A great deal of discussion 

and three trips later, I have 

just imported my first 40ft 

container shipment. 

“This is a major 

commitment for me, 

particularly at my age, 

but I am excited about the 

whole thing. Feedback 

in the industry has been 

very encouraging too – in 

fact, it has exceeded my 

expectations. 

“Comments have ranged 

from ‘this is the best range 

we have seen’ and ‘so user 

friendly’ to ‘all your samples 

are polished to a 10% gloss 

level making it easy for the 

customer to choose, knowing 

that is exactly what they will 

get on their project’. 

“Everybody I speak to 

wants me to succeed,” he 

said. ● 


Homag Group breaks 

100 million Euro barrier 

Despite the current economic 

conditions, the Homag Group 

has succeeded in breaking 

through the EUR 100 million 

barrier in order intake for its 

project business. The biggest 

plant orders deliver Homag 

products to customers in 

Europe and Asia. 

With sales covering 

the entire spectrum of 

requirements arising in the 

furniture industry, what has 

emerged is a clear continuing 

trend towards batch size 

one production in Germany 

but high-flexibility production 

is also starting to play an 

increasingly important role in 

parts of Asia too. 

MILLSOM 

MATERIALS HANDLING 

Innovations such as 

laserTec have since become 

the established standard in 

the office furniture industry. 

Another renowned office 

furniture manufacturer from 

Germany has decided to go 

down the laser technology 

route, and to convert its 

worldwide component 

production to produce parts 

with zero joint. With demand 

on the increase in other areas 

too, the market penetration of 

this premium edge processing 

technology is set to gather 

strength. 

With reacTec, Homag 

Group customers are setting 

new standards in terms of 

THIS MONTH’S PRODUCT FEATURE IS 

THE SCHMALZ VACUUM LIFTER 

‘JUMBO ERGO 200’ 

The vacuum lifter that can easily lift and move 

up to 200kg. Lifting, lowering and releasing 

of the load are easily performed by a single 

operator and combined with an easy to move 

low friction track system or jib crane provides 

the total solution for your handling needs. 

quality and economy in the 

field of surface technology 

in furniture production. With 

two new production plants for 

surface and edge coating, 

the Homag Group will be 

dispatching its first customer 

orders for this economical 

laminating process during 

2012. 

A company that produces 

lacquered and RTA-furniture 

(ready-to-assemble), and 

whose worldwide customers 

include Ikea, has invested in 

a high-efficiency streamlined 

series production including 

a total of four large-scale 

plants and several individual 

machines. After 10 years 

Manufacturing 

working successfully in 

partnership with the Homag 

Group, this modern furniture 

producer has opted to place 

its trust in Homag high-tech 

plants once again. 

Customer-specific solutions, 

the implementation of 

complete plants and sectorspecific 

expertise are the 

focal elements that distinguish 

Homag Group Engineering. 

By covering the complete 

process chain, offering the 

broadest product spectrum 

in the marketplace and 

practicing a cohesive control 

philosophy, the Homag 

Group is making an impact 

on worldwide markets. ● 

FREECALL 1800 99 22 11 

The Right Advice, The Right Solution,The Right Choice 

Millsom’s also have a great range of vacuum lifters capable of lifting up to 2000kg and jib cranes, bridge cranes and low friction track systems to suit most applications. 

LIFT AND TURN 90˚ 

EASY LOADING OF YOUR CNC 

OEM SPARE PARTS DOOR HANDLING 

LIFT AND 180˚ TURN 

MELBOURNE, SYDNEY, BRISBANE, PERTH, ADELAIDE & NZ www.millsom.com.au 

email - sales@millsom.com.au

Manufacturing 

Turning a business 

on its head 

Empower Software is turning Tasker Joinery’s business on its head. 

By Brett Handley, Capstone Business Consultants – business advisor to the joinery and furniture industries. 

Tasker Joinery, based in the 

southern suburbs of Sydney, 

employs eight staff and has 

been in business for over 

30 years. The main focus 

of the business is interior fit 

outs along with commercial 

joinery and kitchens. 

Owner Greg Tasker 

wanted to improve the 

business so that his son, 

Dean, who works in the 

business as the factory 

manager, could take over 

a significantly more stable 

business – one that had 

stronger direction, better 

systems, higher productivity 

and higher job and annual 

profits. 

Tasker Joinery employed 

me as business advisor 

to join the Tasker Joinery 

management team on an 

ongoing consultancy basis 

to assist with business advice 

and help on key projects. 

The management team 

carried out an audit of the 

business with my help in 

January 2012 and at the 

time we identified five main 

issues facing our business. 

1. We acknowledged that, 

in fact, our core business 

is labour management, 

not making cabinets. That 

is, managing our office, 

factory and site labour to get 

our jobs completed within 

budgeted time. 

2. We also had to 

acknowledge that Tasker 

Joinery’s factory, site and 

office labour efficiency 

needed improvement. 

3. With the advent of 


computers, effective industry 

software is now available 

specifically for joiners to 

professionally manage their 

labour force. 

4. Without labour 

management software 

it would be practically 

impossible for Tasker Joinery 

to: 

• make all our management 

(including Greg and Dean) 

and all our staff aware 

and fully accountable for 

their budgeted and actual 

times on jobs; 

• manage our core business, 

which is labour; 

• achieve planned levels 

of productivity and 

profitability; 

• take our business to the 

next level. 

5. As consultant I needed 

to take on two projects, 

namely: 

• identifying the available 

labour management 

software for joiners; 

carrying out due diligence 

on each software package 

and vendor after sales 

support and then decide 

on the best option; 

• oversee the implementation 

of labour management 

software (estimated at 

three hours a week for the 

first two months). 

In my research of the 

available software in the 

market I came across two 

options – one where software 

and code was imported from 

US and just distributed in 

Australia, the other was an 

Australian and New Zealand 

developed and fully owned 

software. 

The criteria that we set to 

evaluate and decide on the 

best labour management 

software were: 

• was the software 

developed specifically 

to suit our industry and 

business size? And 

was there firm proof of 

suitability for Australian 

joinery businesses? 

• would we be supported 

fully with both software 

development and 

enhancements at our 

request? And was 

there a track record of 

other Australian joinery 

clients confirming that 

the software and code 

owner was pro-active in 

development for them? 

• would we get expertise 

in on-site implementation 

to get us successfully up 

and running in a painless 

transition? 

• did the software 

company have expertise 

in supporting labour 

management software in 

joinery businesses and 

a commitment to remain 

involved long term in 

all aspects of labour 

management of our 

business? 

Empower Software scored 

high on all our criteria so 

we proceeded with them. 

In summary the main 

things we liked about 

Empower were: 

• the ability to speak directly 

to the two owners of the 

software and code – Sean 

O’Sullivan and Dave 

Garrett. With software 

imported from the US, we 

could not speak directly 

to the developers and 

owners of the software 

– we would have to 

speak with the Australian 

distributor, who would 

then communicate with 

the US; 

• the experience base of 

Sean O’Sullivan, who had 

worked in joinery and 

manufacturing advising 

in excess of 300 joinery 

businesses spanning 20 

years, as well as Dave 

Garret, who had worked 

in IT for 25 years, 12 

of those in joinery and 

manufacturing; 

• there are 154 joiners and 

manufacturers in Australia 

and New Zealand using 

Empower Software and 

this number continues to 

grow. Clearly Empower 

is very progressive in 

the joinery industry in 

Australia; 

• Empower Software’s 

policy of all new software 

development going into 

the ‘boiling pot’ and all 

new development coming 

back to Tasker Joinery and 

all other clients on every 

upgrade – free of custom 

development fees. 

The Tasker management 

team subsequently met with 

Sean, Dave and Amit from 

Empower at AWISA 2012. 

Discussion of implementation 

issues, future development, 


52

Go in "the draw" 

to win $15,000 of 

manufacturer’s software! 

You get to choose 

the Empower product 

that suits you! 

You can select:- 

1 Time Tracking Jobs & Staff - Labour 

Management Software 

(using 2nd hand PCs on factory floor) 

2 Job Scheduling 

3 Quoting and Materials (incl: costing, bill of 

materials, CRM, ordering, stock control, job cost) 

4 Manufacturers ERP / MRP system (can link to your 

finance / payroll software) 

Vicky Cammiade states “Now you can have the tools 

to help you measure, monitor and manage your daily 

business tasks in real time, simply by going into "the 

draw"..... because: 

Empower Software understands that the pressure for 

profitabilty is an ongoing and unrelenting task in today's 

climate, and bottom line efficency is a day-to-day, 

365 days a year business essential!” 

Empower Software 

is proud to announce 

a special promotion in 

conjunction with Supplier 

Woodworking magazine. 

Email applications to 

vicky.cammiade@ 

elitepublishing.com.au 

or fax 61 3 9890 0087 

In the subject line nominate 

Empower Product 1, 2, 3 or 4 

....and provide full 

business name and 

contact details. 

www.empowersoftware.biz

Manufacturing 

50 

future support and Empower’s 

software gave the Tasker 

management team real 

confidence that we would 

have good software, good 

support and a bright future 

together. 

The main software 

functionality of Empower that 

impressed us was: 

• real time – live reporting 

of all production and 

productivity to all Tasker 

Joinery management and 

all staff; 

• the ability to set budgeted 

times and see actual times 

taken for all jobs carried 

out by all management 

and staff in the office, the 

factory floor and on-site; 

• the ability to identify all 

slippage of time in the 

office, factory floor and on 

site: slippage associated 

with all forms of downtime, 

rework, variations, stolen 

time, overruns on jobs, 

waiting for work, factory 

overhead type jobs 

(including unloading, 

cleaning, set up, loading, 

maintenance, repairs), etc; 

• the ability to reward 

individual staff based on 

individual performance, 

which has been measured 

and reported accurately; 


• the ability to monitor key 

performance indicators for 

Tasker Joinery relating to 

productivity and profitability 

from Empower reports. 

Now that Empower 

Software is operationa,l 

we have witnessed that our 

office, factory and site staff 

are a lot more conscious of 

the budgeted times on all 

their jobs and the times they 

take as individuals. There 

is much more awareness of 

times and accountability from 

all management and staff as 

they work to meet the times. 

Empower’s accurate record 

of all times taken on all jobs 

and the stages of all jobs has 

allowed us to substantially 

improve the accuracy of 

our costing of budgeted 

labour in our quotations. 

We now review both the 

actual and budgeted times 

of previous jobs to determine 

the budgeted labour times for 

new quotations. 

Empower has given us, in 

a single move, the capability 

for total factory control. We 

have taken on more work this 

month from the confidence 

alone that we have far better 

control of our times taken on 

jobs and the ability to get 

jobs completed in the office, 

factory floor and on-site in 

much less time. We are 

also getting increases in 

productivity from far better 

scheduling of all jobs. 

We have had Empower 

for three months so far and 

productivity increases are up 

15% throughout the office, 

factory and site. We expect, 

and are confident that, using 

Empower Software our 

company-wide productivity 

will increase further in the 

next three months. 

Our figures confirm that 

a 15% increase in our 

factory productivity will 

increase our annual profit 

by an estimated 45% per 

year, which is phenomenal 

business improvement and 

performance. 

Greg said that: “for the first 

time in many years I enjoy 

coming to work. I am no 

longer stressed as I am now 

in control of our entire labour 

force and know that all our 

Owner Greg Tasker 

with Brett Handley. 

management and staff are 

fully aware of times required 

and fully accountable to meet 

their times. 

“I feel all my management 

and staff are now ‘in the 

same boat and rowing in the 

same direction’. This has 

enabled me to be much less 

worried about projects and 

our performance and I am 

already starting to reduce 

my hours to more ‘normal’ 

working hours.” 

Our future is looking rosy 

as Tasker Joinery will be a far 

more stable, more productive 

and a far more profitable 

business using Empower 

labour management 

software. 

As a management team 

we all agree that the 

purchase and implementation 

of Empower software has 

been the most strategically 

important decision made 

in the business in 10 years 

and it is the decision that 

will make the biggest 

improvement to our annual 

bottom line profit for years 

to come. Empower provides 

the ability to take control 

of the factory labour and 

processes and the benefits 

will compound each year. 

Now that we have 

seen the impact Empower 

Software has had on our 

management, factory staff 

and job productivity for 

ourselves, as a management 

team we strongly believe 

that, if you do not adopt 

this type of technology, as 

a joiner you will not be 

competitive in the long run. ● 


Leitz makes 

diamond work 

Diamond tooling has 

proven to be a boon to 

the woodworking industry. 

Advances in diamond 

processing techniques 

and machinery, and Leitz’s 

ongoing research and 

development, have driven 

down the cost and made 

diamond polycrystalline [DP] 

tooling accessible to more 

users and a wider range of 

applications. 

With performance 

increases of 30 to 200 times 

over carbide, DP tools have 

a lot to offer an industry 

looking for longer running 

times and reduced unit costs. 

The popularity of diamond 

tooling continues to grow 

as users are enticed by the 

longer runtimes and tooling 

costs that are more and more 

attractive. Often users equate 

“diamond” with high quality, 

long run times, and improved 

finish and so on. While this 

is the goal, the Achilles heel 

of diamond tooling can be its 

brittleness and susceptibility 

to damage as a result of 

vibration. 

Vibration primarily results 

from two sources: 

A leading high speed spindle 

repair company in New 

Zealand is now offering its 

services all over Australasia. 

The company, Spindles 

NZ Ltd, rebuilds and repairs 

various makes of router 

spindle including HSD, 

Colombo, Omlat, Perske, Elte 

and others, which are often 

fitted to quality CNC routers 

and machining centres 

such as Biesse, Morbidelli, 

Weeke, Masterwood, SCM, 

Multicam, etc. 


1) imbalance or eccentricity 

in the tool (or spindle) caused 

by inaccurate manufacture, 

service or maintenance, or 

poor spindle/bore fit; 

2) inadequate support for 

the workpieces from excessive 

overhang, insufficient clamping 

pressure or inconsistent feed. 

Whatever the cause, 

the result is a progressive 

degradation of the cutting 

edge by slowly beating 

away the diamond particles 

rather than wearing them 

away. To maximize the 

benefits of diamond tooling, 

it is critical to review the 

application with your Leitz 

representative to ensure it is 

appropriate as a whole. 

Plant management 

should recognise that highperformance 

tools require 

close attention and ensure 

operators are fully trained 

and educated in the proper 

handling of DP tooling. 

The machinery (including 

spindles, feeding mechanisms 

and hold-downs) and toolholding/clamping 

devices 

should be regularly checked 

and maintained to ensure 

they are suitable for the 

Long lead and repair 

times from Europe has led 

the company to grow the 

company by looking offshore 

to offer a competitive, quick 

turnaround. 

According to Jon Escreet 

from Spindles NZ Ltd, a 

spindle can be rebuilt and 

have the customer back 

up and running within 

seven days – even with the 

international delivery. 

“Due to the modern 

pressures of manufacturing 

applications. Buyers should 

educate themselves, ask 

questions, look for precisionground 

reference surfaces 

(shanks, bosses, collets, 

flanges, tool holders, etc) 

and talk in terms of quality 

and tolerances with their Leitz 

tooling salesperson. Operators 

may recognise a knife with a 

cutting edge that ‘feels’ sharp, 

but chips or produces an edge 

with scratches or an otherwise 

unsatisfactory finish – many of 

these are the results of micro 

breakouts along the cutting 

edge that could be contributed 

to vibration damage. Users 

must pay close attention to 

tool maintenance, regularly 

cleaning and changing collets 

and tool holders to ensure 

precise clamping surfaces. 

In router applications 

with spindle rpm greater 

than 20,000, it becomes 

necessary to move towards 

more accurate clamping 

systems, such as Leitz 

ThermoGrip shrink tool 

holders with an eccentricity of 

0.01mm versus CNC collet 

chucks. Hydraulic chucks 

(esp=0.03mm) offer a similar 

degree of concentricity, but 

and the limited stock 

manufacturers carry, the 

rebuild service goes from 

strength to strength,” said Jon. 

“We now stock and 

fit ceramic bearings as 

standard, which are sourced 

and imported direct from the 

spindle manufacturer. 

“As the manufacturing 

industry becomes more 

diverse so does the 

machinery and materials 

used. High speed spindles 

are used on more and more 

can deflect under high cutting 

pressures (resulting from 

high feed rates, dull tools, 

increased material removal, 

etc). 

Leitz, as a leading tool 

manufacturer, continues to 

bring other advances to the 

industry, including vibrationdampening 

steel alloys or 

heavy metal tool bodies for 

router tools as used in the 

new real Z3+3 range; the 

innovative Leitz Whisper Cut 

diamond-tipped aluminum 

cutter heads for pre-milling 

applications (edge banding), 

light-weight aluminum alloy 

tool bodies can be balanced 

to higher standards than their 

steel-bodied counterparts. The 

unique design also lends to 

quieter operation, improved 

dust flow, and the lighter 

mass results in “soft-jumping” 

(specifically for edge banding 

applications). 

It’s not as easy as simply 

changing to DP tools and 

pressing the green start 

button but, with precaution, 

forethought and planning with 

Leitz, diamond tooling can 

make a dramatic difference to 

your bottom line.● 

Spindles NZ now repairing in Australasia 

applications such as stone, 

laminates, aluminium and 

other composite materials. 

High speed spindles if 

looked after correctly can 

give many years of service 

but, as they all run on rolling 

bearings, being ceramic or 

steel they have a life.” 

Spindles NZ Ltd stocks 

spares such as toolholder 

grippers, ISO30 or HSK, 

cooling fans, drawbars and 

other parts, which are known 

to be consumable. ● 


Manufacturing 

Finishing innovations at IWF 2012 

By Bob Kory, Kory Dubay 

To put some scale on the IWF host city 

of Atlanta in the State of Georgia, USA, 

you just have to imagine the whole 

Australian population within a 100 

mile radius of the city. The home of the 

International Woodworking and Furniture 

Supply Fair (IWF), this event is amongst 

the largest of its kind in the world. 

A view down Peachtree Street, Atlanta. 

There may have been dwindling 

numbers of visitors and exhibitors to the 

fair in the aftermath of the 2008 Global 

Financial Crisis but now there is some 

optimism – pre-registration was up 40% 

over the last event, which still had 880 

exhibitors and 21000 visitors. 

Some of the visitors at IWF 2012. 

Seeing many famous and well-known 

local and global brands, showcasing 

their latest innovations and ideas 

under one roof in the Georgia World 

Congress Centre, demonstrates the 

importance of the North American 

furniture and furnishings market. 


The local KCMA (Kitchen Cabinet 

Manufactures Association) revealed that 

the US kitchen and bathroom market is 

a US$7 billion industry. 

The opportunity to network with friends 

and peers at the IWF is another very big 

drawcard and a very valuable way to 

share personal experiences, best practice 

and successful survival strategies, lend an 

ear or pick up a useful tip. There were 

conversations on how to avoid misfortune 

and failure during the downturn where 

many companies became victims of the 

economic restructuring and, of course, 

politics with US elections looming was a 

hot topic. There were many parallels and 

criticisms over there just as we have here, 

and there were many that I spoke to at 

the fair that are hoping for a change of 

government that appreciates free enterprise. 

The economic slowdown posed serious 

problems to US manufacturing businesses 

such as we are experiencing here right 

now. They had reductions in sales of up 

to 40%, with some companies hitting the 

wall and others forced to take a long hard 

look at themselves, identify automation 

and find innovations that would give 

them a competitive edge. This would 

then allow them to continue to fulfil and 

exceed the expectations of their end users 

in providing consistent quality and service 

no matter how complex the process, right 

down to one-off custom orders. 

Improved 3D brush sanding 

Decore-ative Specialties NC makes 

custom cabinet components and is 

still in the process of re-engineering its 

production lines making a continuous 

line from 

previously 

separate 

work cells, 

thus reducing 

the time 

ittakes for a 

five piece 

solid timber 

door to get 

through from 

The vinyl wrap process at Decore-ative. 

four and a half days to four and a half 

hours. Consolidation meant valuable 

space was freed up for further value 

adding. 

After calibration sanding the company 

installed the latest innovation for 3D brush 

sanding using the Roba–Tech sander 

displayed at IWF for both its vinyl wrap 

and solid timber door divisions. 

The new Roba-Tech sander with the wide belt brush 

sanding strips. 

This brush sander has a unique wide 

belt loaded with brush sanding strips that 

improves on the brush sanding drums by 

allowing longer contact with the surface 

(0.03 to 15secs subject to feed speed) – 

quite an improvement. This allows speeds 

to be reduced for very effective stroke 

sanding and, with pre-conditioning of the 

strips, helps to reduce rub throughs. The 

whole belt assembly is also simultaneously 

rotated through 0-360 degrees over the 

work as opposed to the conventional 

North, South, East and West approach 

to getting into every corner, significantly 

reducing or eliminating hand sanding. 

Product being packed up ready for the customer after 

finish sanding through the Roba-Tech (seen in the 

background). 


Superfast colour changing 

A company that has perfected the “order 

today and it will be shipped overnight 

anywhere across North America” 

is Bayer Built Woodworks Inc. This 

company supplies quality pre-finished 

millwork, to finish off house interior items 

such as architraves, skirtings, interior or 

exterior doors in a variety of species, all 

in 12 colours and finishes. 

The Bayer Built 12 stain colour chips. 

Completed Product being prepared for shipping. 

Bayer Built recently installed the latest 

colour change technology allowing 

12 colours to be changed over in 90 

seconds each after flushing – perfect for 

custom orders 

The Graco OEM fast changeover system. 

The investment in this innovation to 

reduce downtime was substantial, but 

the change also meant that the spray 

section had dramatically shortened colour 

changeover times for custom work and 


The Kremlin-Rexson OEM fast 12 colour change 

system. 

this improved its capacity by 60%. The 

payback is well covered. 

Innovations in belt sanding 

technology 

Wide belt sanders saw the Weber 

brand display its latest improvements at 

IWF. The German made brand is 100 

years old but only recently began direct 

marketing and exposure. 

A Weber KSF sander with CBF and ISA/ISD 

technology. 

One of the biggest problems with belt 

sanding paint, plastic and metal surfaces 

is belt over-heating, which fouls the paper 

and increases the cost of consumables. 

However, the Weber innovation of the 

independent cross lamella (chevron) belt 

inside the wide belt changes all that. The 

belts run cooler, can use finer grits and 

you have more freedom to respond to 

segmented sanding pressure. 

The Weber 

interchangeable “X” 

head showing the 

cross lamella belt 

inside the wide belt. 

The unique “X” head 

can be a wide belt or 

a cross belt allowing 

configuration 

flexibility. 

The cross lamella belt is driven 

independently and wears more evenly 

inside the wide belt, regardless of small or 

large panels being fed through the sander. 

The lamella belt is also a consumable, can 

last longer and remains more accurate 

with the height across the working width 

and is more economical to replace. 

The new segmented sections can be activated by laser 

(picture 1), and are far more flexible than previous 

stepped technology (picture 2). (Pic3) In comparison, 

the Weber sectional pressure beam improvement, for 

a smooth and even surface. 

Kitchen manufacturer, Leichte Kuchen of Germany, 

producing high quality gloss finishes (1000 pieces per 

day) with a KSV 4 and 5 head plus cleaning station 

Weber sanders in the paint sanding preparation areas. 56 


Manufacturing 

55 

The Weber planetary action head. 

Also to substantially reduce the lines left 

behind by the sanding belt, whether paint 

or solid surface, Weber has designed 

planetary and galaxy orbital sanding 

heads ideal for preparation sanding of 

surfaces for gloss finishes. 

Where production capacities are 

adequate for payback, the KSV and KSF 

sander design is set up to finish surface 

sanding in one pass, whether pre- or 

post-sanding of the painted surfaces ready 

for coating. Leichte Kitchens sands and 

coats approximately 1000 parts per day. 

However, for small to medium shops, 

there is the LCE model with two heads that 

can include the Weber “X” head plus a 

planetary head that will allow the same 

steps of a four head, but with two passes 

after resetting, requiring a smaller capital 

investment for the latest innovations. 

Perfect black gloss finished doors at Leichte Kitchens. 

Automated robot spraying 

Another area that appealed to me was 

automated paint application. However, 

spray robots for flat panels are different 

but still have 0-360 degree spray gun 

movement and also reciprocate on an 

overhead gantry over the stationery 

work table. 


A five axis 3D spray robot as used in the car industry 

but which can also spray 3D wooden assemblies. 

AWFI Hi Tech Training Centre in 

Virginia 

Phil Stevenson from the American 

Wood Finishing Institute is an expert in 

finishing processes and was part of the 

lecture series at IWF. He also personally 

trained me during my visit. He is sought 

after in the US for establishing process 

engineering, which ideally should be 

carried out prior to process commitment 

to avoid disappointment. Phil is also 

sought after to straighten out and advise 

on existing installations and write up 

System Operating Procedures (SOPs) for 

what is a complex process that needs 

monitoring. Management for volume 

production is usually carried out by 

a process engineer in order to have 

consistent results. Assessments can also 

be carried out for by Phil and his team, 

if required. 

The AWFI equipment and training area in Virginia. 

The Hi Tech AWFI laboratory and 

training centre, in South Boston, Virginia 

has various coating technologies in house 

and is also set up with sophisticated room 

make-up air, which, if overlooked in an 

installation, can affect the process and 

attract all airborne particles to the paint 

booths like a vacuum cleaner. 

The AWFI laboratory. 

There is various flat line (flow through 

reciprocating spray) equipment available 

on the market for coating large runs, but 

there is also equipment that is easy to use 

and has fast clean up, especially with 

small custom runs. This has meant that the 

Maurimacchine and the Giardina GS15 

spray robot has a different approach to 

spraying a stationery tray or table load at 

a time, which can then be driven directly 

in a drying line and stacker, sanded and 

recoated, etc. It may also have a paper 

belt, simplifying clean-up and downtime, 

which otherwise can be complicated 

with paint recovery belt systems and 

which is not as practical with small runs 

and where clean up can take up to two 

and a half hours.● 

For further information on any of the above please email 

bobkory@korydubay.com 


FACE AND EDGE SANDING SOLUTIONS FOR WOOD, PLASTIC AND STEEL. 

EDGE SANDING MACHINES 


BELT SANDING 

MACHINES 

BRUSH SANDING 

Available DIRECT from Kory Dubay Manufacturing Aust. P/L 

Ph. +61 (03) 9311-1113 www.korydubay.com info@korydubay.com 

Classifieds 

IF 

YOU 

CAN 

READ 

THIS YOU 

ARE 

LUCKY 

Do you know someone who is vision impaired, has a 

disability, or can speak, but not necessarily read English - 

their second language; With 17 RPH stations around the 

country, there is a Radio Reading Service near you - or them 

- that will keep them in touch with the printed news and 

allow them to still enjoy a good book. 

Go to www.rph.org.au to find out 

which station is nearest and start a new 

chapter in their life. 

We repair 

high speed router 

spindles 

Supply new: 

HSD, COLUMBO, 

OMLAT etc. 

Authorised HSD agents + repairs 

SPINDLES NZ LTD 

66 Manuka St. Nelson 

mobile: 021 023 89028 

email: info@spindles.co.nz 

www.spindles.co.nz 


Events Advertisers 

OCTOBER 2012 

2-4 TekhnoDrev 2012 

Technologies, equipment, tools for 

woodworking & furniture industry 

St. Petersburg, Russian Federation 

http://old.restec.ru/exhibition.en.html 

7-10 W12 2012 

Showcasing Technology and Materials 

for the UK Industrial Woodworking 

sector 

Birmingham, UK 

www.w12exhibition.com 

10-12 100% Design Singapore 2012 

Contemporary interior design exhibition 

including lighting, bathroom/kitchen, 

floor & wall coverings 

Singapore 

www.100percentdesign.com.sg 

10-13 Woodmach Philippines 2012 

International Wood, Woodworking & 

Furniture-making Machinery, Furnishings 

& Furniture Accessories Exhibition 

Manila, Philippines 

13-17 InterMob 2012 

Furniture Side Industry, Accessories, 

Forestry Products And Wood Technology 

Istanbul, Turkey 

www.intermobistanbul.com 

13-17 Wood Processing Machinery 2012 

International Wood Processing Machines, 

Cutting Tools, Hand Tools 

Istanbul, Turkey 

www.woodmachineryistanbul.com 

17-19 furniPRO Asia 2012 

Woodworking and Furniture Production 

Industry in ASEAN 

Singapore 

www.furniproasia.com 

17-20 SICAM 2012 

Exhibition of Components, Semi-Finished 

Parts and Accessories For Furniture 

Industry 

Pordenone, Italy 

www.exposicam.it 

18-21 WoodShow Cairo 2012 

International Wood and Wood 

Machinery 

Cairo, Egypt 

www.cairowoodshow.com/ 

19-20 Woodworking Scotland 2012 

Woodworking & Furniture Production 

Exhibition 

Edinburgh, Scotland 

www.nelton.co.uk/scottish-woodcraftshow.html 

21-25 ProWood 2012 

Wood-working Industry and Related 

Sectors 

Ghent, Belgium 

www.prowood-fair.be 

***For more information on the fairs or to confirm 

dates, please check the individual websites. 

3D Kitchen Design 25 & 59 

Beyond Tools 33 

Biesse Group Australia 5 

Cabinet Makers Association Inc 29 

Elton Group 11 & 13 

Empower Software 7 & 51 

Gabbett Machinery 45 

Hafele Australia 2 & 3 

Hettich Australia 35 

Kockums Bulk Systems 39 

Kory-Dubay 57 

Leitz Tooling Systems 43 

Michael Weinig Aust 40 

Millsom Hoists 49 

MPB Engineering 34 

Multicam Systems 

Newcastle Front Cover & 9 

Nikpol 21 

Prodeco 28 

QuickCAM Systems 41 

Ron Mack Machinery Back Cover 

Simple Software Solutions 57 

Slice Veneers 46 & 47 

Solu 26 

Spindles NZ 57 

Strangford Design 22 & 23 

VKS Creative Components 18 & 19 

Wealthy Tradesman 57 

Officially supported by: 

• Australian Furniture Association South West 

• Cabinetmakers Association 

• Australian Thermo Laminating 

Association 

• Australian Wood Panels 

Association 

• Decorative Wood Veneers Association 

• The Furnisher’s Society of Victoria 

• National Association Furniture Agents 

Contact Us 

Proudly produced and printed in Australia 

Published bi-monthly 

ELITE PUBLISHING CO PTY LTD 

ABN: 27 006 876 419 

PO BOX 800, Templestowe, Victoria, Australia 3106 

Ph: + 61 3 9890 0815 

Fax: + 61 3 9890 0087 

Email: info@elitepublishing.com.au 

Website: www.suppliermagazine.com.au 

www.elitepublishing.com.au 

PUBLISHER 

Vicky Cammiade 

Email: vicky.cammiade@elitepublishing.com.au 

GROUP MANAGING EDITOR 

Jennifer Curtis 

Email:jennifer.curtis@elitepublishing.com.au 

ADVISORY PANEL 

Philip Ashley, Sean O’Sullivan, Dave Kahle, 

Michael Buckley, Dr Greg Chapman 

NATIONAL SALES MANAGER 

Ashley Cooper 

ashley.cooper@elitepublishing.com.au 

CIRCULATION MANAGER 

Georgia Gilmour 

georgia.gilmour@elitepublishing.com.au 

PRODUCTION 

For artwork and production enquiries please 

email: production@elitepublishing.com.au 

PRE-PRESS 

Prominent Digital 

PRINTED BY 

Prominent Press Pty Ltd 

OVERSEAS REPRESENTATIVES 

Representative Agent for Taiwan, 

China and Hong Kong, Robert Yu, 

Worldwide Services Co Ltd,11F-B, No. 540 Wen Hsin 

Road, Section 1,Taichung, 408, Taiwan 

Tel: +886 4 2325 1784 

Fax: +886 4 2325 2967 

Email: sales@wwstaiwan.com 

ELITE PUBLISHING CO PTY LTD PUBLISHERS OF: 

Supplier Magazine, FB Magazine, Flooring Magazine, 

Members of the Publishers Australia Association 

Member of the Australian Furniture Association 

South West 

Member of the International Woodworking and Furniture 

Supplier Magazine Association 

ELITE PUBLISHING CO PTY LTD (established 1985) All rights reserved - No part of this publication 

maybe reproduced, transmitted or copied in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical 

including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without the 

express prior written consent of Elite Publishing Co Pty Ltd. Viewpoints, opinions, claims, etc 

expressed in articles appearing in this publication are those of the authors. The Publishers accept no 

responsibility for the information supplied or for claims made by companies or their representatives 

regarding product performance, etc or for any errors, omissions, misplacement, alterations, or any 

subsequent changes, or for any consequences of reliance on this information or this publication.

Win 

a free 

softWare 

package! 

The offer includes… 

3D Kitchen Pro Custom 

software producing… 

> 3D images 

> Floor plans 

> Elevations 

> Full cutting lists 

> Full job costing 

> Material optimising 

• Easily create your own 

unique cabinets 

• Complete customised system 

(cabinet library built to your own 

specifications) 

• Full unlimited product support 

(yes, no time limit) – broadband 

internet required 

Readers who purchase 3D Kitchen during the 

promotion will also be permitted to apply. 

The winner will be announced in the November 

issue of Supplier Woodworking magazine. 

Readers of Supplier 

Woodworking magazine are 

invited to apply to be in the 

draw to win a free copy of 

industry leading software 

3D Kitchen. The offer is 

being made jointly by 3D 

Kitchen and Supplier 

Woodworking magazine 

What’s the catch? 

1. You must be a reader of Supplier 

Woodworking magazine 

2. You must be a manufacturing 

cabinetmaker 

3. You must not already have 

design or production software 

4. The offer does not include future 

software updates 

5. Applications must be received 

before 10th November 2012 

6. Email applications to 

vicky.cammiade@elitepublishing.com.au 

or fax +61 3 9890 0087 

… subject “3D Software 2012” 

… supply full business name and 

contact details.

Panel Saws 

High quality Italian Casadei, incredible range from 

low cost entry level to 5-axis. 

Surface Planers 

Quality Casadei or Winner, unbeatable deals. 

Planer / Moulders 

Winner Pioneer, from low cost 4 spindle to high 

spec 9 spindle – every configuration. 

CNC Routers 

A full range, great value from Busellato, 

C-Nest, Boarke. 

Edgebanders 

Quality Italian Bi-Matic & Casadei – now at 

reduced prices. Unbeatable value for money! 

Thicknessers 

We have the best range available. 

Radial Arm Saws 

Huge range – everything available. 

Dust Collectors 

An extensive range of Romac dust collectors in 

stock from single inlet 850 cfm to 4 inlet 7,500 cfm 

& 6 inlet 8,500 cfm. 

WA, Perth (head office) 08 9445 0700 

VIC 03 8359 8400 QLD 0439 901 646 NSW 0422 237 409 SA 0439 094 486 

freecall 1800 818 448 

Australia-Wide, New Zealand and Asia Pacific 

for full details: www.ronmack.com.au 

Panel Saws 

Check out the Romac range, check out the 

SP400E – our deals are unbeatable! 

Wide Belt Sanders 

Every size available, both Casadei and Boarke. 

Spindle Moulders 

Best range from Casadei & Xcalibur, 

NC control & feeders. 

Used Machinery 

Massive range of panel saws, edgebanders, beam 

saws – everything available. 

www.ronmack.com.au 

info@ronmack.com.au

Order online: www.leitz.com.au - Supplier Woodworking magazine

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?