South of Scotland Enterprise has awarded LS Starrett Company £181,000 towards a £500,000 investment project that will accelerate growth plans at its Jedburgh distribution facility. The company – which is a specialist in bandsaws and saw blades – is aiming to not only grow its current business in the UK but diversify into new sectors. This diversification will aim to create new skills, jobs and opportunities across the Scottish Borders in the coming years.

The announcement is welcome news for both Starrett and Jedburgh, which have a long association since the US firm set up its UK factory in the Scottish Borders town in 1958.

Last year, the business announced a restructure of its global manufacturing operations which resulted in the risk of losing over 100 jobs. Since then however, Starrett’s new management team – supported by 78 staff at its Jedburgh base – has successfully begun to rebuild the business, which has recorded 34% growth over the past 12 months.

Starrett is also supporting the further development of skills and opportunities through the rental of factory space to IndiNature, a sustainable construction materials business.

Says Starrett’s finance director Nicky Richardson: “Thanks to support from SOSE we’re now very excited and energised to accelerate growth into new markets as part of our half million-pound investment in the Jedburgh site.”

Commercial director Robert McKechnie adds: “Diversification into these new markets will be challenging but SOSE’s support allows us to recruit the best talent into our great team and continue driving the business forward.”

For further information
www.starrett.co.uk

The global pandemic has impacted businesses around the world, but for Aiguisatek, the impact was compounded by stringent local regulation in the Quebec province that all but shut down manufacturing in the area. Luckily for the Delson-based company, its investment in a Vollmer CHD 270 eight-axis TCT circular saw blade sharpening machine with Vollmer ND250 automation station enabled Aiguisatek to run unmanned production throughout the pandemic.

In 2015 Aiguisatek expanded into PCD cutting tools, increasing its offering and market share with existing customers, and gaining new clients. Since this diversification, the company has witnessed 25% year-on-year growth, expanding beyond its local customer base to support clients across the Quebec and Ontario areas. Of course, such aggressive growth, not just in PCD tooling but also TCT saw blades, required additional investment. So, in 2019 Aiguisatek acquired a Vollmer CHD270 eight-axis tooth-top and face-grinding machine with ND250 automation solution as part of a $1.5m investment programme.

Alluding to this growth, Aiguisatek president Lisa Goulet says: “PCD tooling has been a game-changer for us and has accelerated our growth. In a short time, the breakdown of our products is now 35% PCD and 65% carbide tooling. Simultaneously, our TCT saw blade department has grown by an average of 15% annually and we’re now servicing over 1000 saw blades a week. We wouldn’t have sustained this growth without our investment in the Vollmer CHD270 and ND250. Almost 90% of our customer base is in the woodworking industry. We now have three staff delivering/collecting saws and tools daily to manufacturers of everything from cabinets and furniture, through to windows, doors and the construction industry.”

For further information
www.vollmer-group.com

The fast, thorough cleaning of sawn parts and their location-appropriate storage: an employee of a different kind now performs this work at Schwilk Automatendrehteile – a robot. The manufacturer of turned parts from the town of Heroldstatt has opted for the MEBArobots solution in the course of further automation, matching its MEBAmat 330 bandsaw.

Managing director Jochen Schwilk says: “The robot offers us significantly more flexibility in the resource planning of employees. It takes care of tedious cleaning operations after sawing, removing chips and stubborn cooling lubricant. The robot also provides the positional storage of parts in a grid box or on special pallets.”

Previously, our employee had three Meba bandsaws under his care. However, thanks to the robot, he can now prepare other orders and has expanded his range of work in the material warehouse and incoming goods facility.

In the past, Schwilk’s cleaning process repeatedly led to production plant stoppages. However, since the robot now performs this task, stoppages are almost a thing of the past. MEBArobots is in use around the clock and delivers the same high level of work. Often overnight, the new ‘colleague’ produces parts unmanned. Should a problem occur at night, such as breaking a bandsaw blade, the robot reliably ensures that the system stops and that no consequential damage occurs to the saw or the robot.

MEBArobots contains know-how specifically geared to sawing applications. Not just any robot is connected to a saw. With the robot manufacturer Nachi and Meba, two professionals co-operate to ensure that robots and saws communicate smoothly with each other. The user receives a customer-specific system from a single source: an integrated solution.

For further information
www.meba-saw.com