Sternfenster has invested £800,000 in a new Schirmer cutting and machining centre as part of its PVC-U fabrication line.
Sales director Nathan Court said: “Our key strategy in recent years has been all about putting our customers in control of their window and door supply, and this machine is a vital part of that.
“This new cutting and machining centre can handle many more profiles in a shift, which means that if we get a spike in demand, then lead times aren’t going to be pushed out. And it is exceptionally quick, so it allows us to offer high-end products with industry-beating lead times, allowing our customers to remain competitive in a tough marketplace.”
The Schirmer includes a high-speed gripper that transports the full-length profiles andre-useable off-cuts through the machine with improved accuracy, and a six-axis tooling module performs all necessary routing in a single pass. A three-axis milling unit allows Sternfenster to end-mill the profile online rather than as a separate process.
Other new machinery due for delivery in the next two years are: a new £40,000 Atlantic six-brush vertical glass washer; a new £40,000 glass cutting table; a new £1m 42m glass line; and a new £1.5m PVC-U welding and cleaning line.
