Silvan Floors produces
high quality hardwood floors at its mill in rural Leicestershire,
personally selecting the raw materials from the forests of Northern
France and supplying the finished products to prestigious projects
around the world.
Always on the look out for the latest in machinery
& equipment, Silvan Floors recently acquired a “monster”
press to laminate flooring from Alan Lamont of Lamont.
“It was a case of
expanding our business,” partner, James Iliffe, told PW&SS.
“We needed more pressing capabilities for several large orders we
had picked up, as well as needing to produce more metres per month.
“Through our
research, we found Alan's company. He came and sat with us, went
through the options we had. We explained what we did and what he
required, and he informed us of a press he had provided for one of
our competitors: we wanted something similar but on a larger scale.
He came to see us two or three times before an order was placed to
make sure we were happy with everything he was proposing and to
ensure that we got a machine that was exactly what we needed.
“What we do is quite
unique: we are one of the few companies in the world that can produce
flooring up to 15 m long, and we needed a second press that could
cope with at least 7.5 m lengths.
“We do always try to
purchase UK goods, as in this way we can do our bit to help the
economy: and if we encourage our customers to buy British, well, we
feel we should do the same. Alan's pricing was not too far away from
what we wanted to spend; and the fact that he had produced not one,
but four or five, presses for our competitor was also an advantage.
The other company must have been happy with what they were purchasing
as they kept ordering more!
“We use it to press 6
mm oak veneers onto a 15 mm birchwood plywood: this is the main
component of an engineered timber floor. The new press can handle
components up to 7.5 m long and 350 mm wide: and we still have the
other press if required for longer components.
“As a side loading
press, the new machine is quick to load and unload: certainly quicker
than the longer press, which is daylight loading. The time and labour
saving is a huge advantage to us.
“Another advantage is
the ability to move the rams around, so if we are pressing components
at different lengths we can almost build a pyramid on the press and
move the rams to suit each level.”
James added that
another advantage is that the press runs off compressed air. “We
have a power limit within the building, which we are very close to.
With this press, the electricity runs the compressor but that it is
all: which also means the cost of running the machine is lower than
it would otherwise be.”
When asked if he would
recommend it, James replied, “I most certainly would, yes!”
This article first appeared in the August/September 2014 issue of Panel, Wood & Solid Surface.
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