Bates Timber, Coventry

Independent timber merchant, Bates Timber, has invested in two Standard TRK2 Striebig vertical panel saws in the last 18 months from leading machinery distributor, TM Machinery. Following a move to new premises that saw the Coventry-based company more than double in size and an increased demand for cut-to-size boards, investing in reliable and accurate machinery that would stand the test of time was a top priority for the growing business.

“As an independent timber merchant, we are geared towards offering a great service to our customers,” begins Peter Bates, owner of Bates Timber. “We work with both the trade and the general public, meaning our day-to-day jobs vary massively in size. Our saws could be used to cut a single sheet of MDF or resize several thousand plywood boards for a production job. With such variation in our work, we needed to invest in a bigger and better saw that could offer us more capabilities and help us with an increasing number of orders.”

Striebig Standard Purchase

Having researched the Striebig brand online and experienced live demonstrations of the range at the woodworking machinery and materials show, W16, Peter placed his order and the saw was installed quickly and put to good use immediately in their original unit on Foleshill Road, Coventry. As well as offering Striebig’s unparalleled precision of 0.1 mm, a powerful, high-torque 5.5 kW motor (7.5 hp), a 300/30 mm carbide circular saw blade and integral TRK extraction system, the popular Standard TRK2 model also benefits from an automatically yielding aluminium support frame with plastic supports for simple and controlled cutting.

A year later, Bates Timber purchased new premises on a 1.3 acre site. “We had been in our old unit for over 25 years and we had simply outgrown it. We were at a stage where we would have had to have turned business away if we had stayed put. The new site is more than double the size, as is our brand new machinery shop. Our processes have always run smoothly so it made sense to replicate the old unit and double-up on machinery. After experiencing our first Striebig for 12 months and seeing just how robust it was, I knew another Striebig vertical panel saw would be a sound investment for the business.”

Second Striebig to Increase Efficiency

Moving to bigger premises and purchasing a second Striebig vertical panel saw couldn’t have come at a better time for the merchant, as demand for bulk production was steadily increasing. “We found ourselves having to break down the saw when working on jobs that required two or three thousand pieces of MDF or plywood to be cut-to-size at one time in order to service walk-in customers who would want a single sheet re-sized while they waited,” admits Peter. “The introduction of a second Striebig vertical panel saw – this time chosen with a larger bed to work with jumbo sheets – gave us the flexibility to deal with these requests much more efficiently. Now we use both machines concurrently to minimise interruptions and productivity. It’s also given us the resources we need to build on this revenue stream in the future.”

Keen to work with local companies wherever possible, Peter built a solid relationship with TM Machinery’s team. “The service we received from TM Machinery was faultless,” admits Peter. “They offered us sound advice and both machines were delivered, off-loaded and assembled with minimal fuss. I couldn’t fault their knowledge and understanding of both the machinery brand or the industry, and I’d recommend them to anyone looking to purchase a vertical panel saw.” Operational training was given once the machine was fully installed by TM Machinery’s experienced engineers and an annual service plan was put in place in order to maintain the saw’s optimal performance.

Peter adds, “The two Striebig saws were a big up-front investment for us but when you’ve got two machines that you know will continue to perform solidly year-on-year for the next decade, the investment will pay for itself. They also have the performance capabilities to grow with the company and to undertake a wide range of jobs quickly and effectively. I’m a firm believer in the phrase, ‘you get what you pay for’ and in my mind, there isn’t a better example of this than a Striebig.”