Investment in Third Striebig Saw
When your key clients are schools, prisons, train stations, hospitals and supermarket chains that don’t take kindly to excuses, it makes no sense to economise on the machinery you invest in. You need the best, the most reliable, the most robust. And you need a good team of service engineers behind you to keep everything running so you can meet your commitments. Especially when your day-to-day work involves cutting large sheets of 50mm-thick MDF, 20mm compact grade laminate sheets weighing anything from 110kg to 150kg, and faced chipboard and plywood ranging from 6-20mm, you really don’t want saws that have been designed for lightweight duties.
That’s exactly why, after careful research into various brands, Nottingham-based Permabond bought its first two vertical panel saws from Striebig – a Swiss manufacturer with a reputation for quality, accuracy and reliability available through exclusive distributors TM Machinery. It’s a testament to the brand that 12 years on, both Permabond’s Striebig saws are still working tirelessly and the company has just invested in a third, this time Striebig Evolution.
“We have two factories and just over 4,000 square metres of manufacturing space,” company director Jonathan Wheeler confirmed. “We make toilet cubicles, reception counters, panelling systems behind the toilets – anything it’s physically possible to make with wood or laminate. One of our biggest customers is Aldi. We make the packing benches for the end of the stores, furniture for the staff room areas and managers’ offices, desking and cupboards – everything. Most of our work is contract work, though we do get walk-ins and have a small showroom. We travel across the UK for our customers.”
Digital Vertical Panel Saws
Jonathan has been with Permabond for 17 years and remembers well the old vertical panel saw they had before the first Striebigs arrived: “We originally had an old wall saw that was totally manual. It was very restricting and not very accurate compared with the Striebigs. We had to use a tape across the wall saw bed and move a stop up to it. On the Striebigs, everything is digital.
“Dave, our MD, wanted to go for the best quality. When he saw Striebig, it ticked all the boxes. I was one of the first to get on that machine and it was just fantastic. It did everything that we needed to do and it helped us expand. The cutting was a lot easier, it was quicker to get panels on and off the machine and it cut flawlessly.
“I know a lot of people like sliding table saws, but we find that we get on better with vertical saws because they are so much easier to use with big sheets. Especially with heavier sheets, like compact, solid grade laminate, it’s much easier to lift them onto a wall saw where they stay nice and flat for the cut and there’s no risk of scratching the surfaces. Once they are on the rollers, even the heaviest sheets are really easy to cut.
“The nice thing about Striebig saws is they are built to last and they have been designed by people who have used a saw and know exactly what woodworkers need. Everything has been designed for simplicity of use and simplicity in operation. For example, if you want to take a blade out, open the flap, push a button and undo the blade with an Allen key. It’s on a reverse thread, so you don’t need to tighten the blades up. There’s nothing complicated and that’s the way it should be.
New Striebig Evolution Panel Saw
“The measuring device is on the saw itself and both the older and the newer models have digital measuring. If the device gets a knock and goes out of calibration, it’s really easy to recalibrate – less than a minute. It works the same on the new Evolution as it does on the old one, so it’s really easy to move from one machine to another. There’s also a neat little stop on the upper panel support that helps you position the sheet. Simple little things like this tell you the machines are designed by people who really understand woodworking.
“Striebigs are also built to last. They are very capable machines with rigid support structures at the back, and that’s what we need to cope with 20mm compact. A sheet can weigh anything from 110kg to 150kg. It’s much easier to lift the panel directly onto a bed than it is to lay it down on a flat table. Vertical panels saws always work better for us. We have one of the older models next to the new one in one factory. They take up far less workshop space than a sliding table saw.
“We bought the first two Striebigs about 12 years ago. The latest version – also an Evolution – we bought earlier this year. Our MD chose Striebig again because we know it’s a good, reliable make, and we get great service from our suppliers, TM Machinery. We have trust the brand and in TM. We work all three of our machines hard, we have them serviced yearly and they don’t let us down.
“With the new machine, we upscaled to the higher spec to get more automated functions and the digital screen and the laser light system. They all add to the accuracy and make the machine even easier to set up. There’s always a bit of rabbit in headlights when you change things and it took a while to get used to the new model, but TM gave us a day’s training on the new machine here on site where we could use our own materials and all our operators love using it.
Ongoing Maintenance and Servicing
“The service we get from TM is really excellent. We’ve had different engineers over the time we’ve been with them but each and every one of them has been really good to us. If they can help you out over the phone, TM will do that rather than sending an engineer. Often they will tell you to do this, try that, and then call them back if it hasn’t worked. Sometimes they’ll ask us to send a picture via WhatsApp. They’re really, really good at helping you out. They don’t just want to send an engineer to you and charge you for it. If they can help you out over the phone, they’ll do that.
“The only issues we have had with any of our Striebigs are wear and tear parts that are generally picked up at service. Other than that, we’ve never had a problem. We are on a regular service programme so they come every year and service each machine. They calibrate them when they come and they check everything. The machines are so well built and so reliable they seldom need anything else.”
Contact TM Machinery for More Information
Ready to transform your woodworking operation? Talk to TM and discover how the automation within Striebig’s range of vertical panel saws can help streamline production and increase your business’s potential.
