S & P Coil Products, Heating Panel Manufacturer

A Striebig vertical panel saw is playing a key role in a cost reduction exercise at radiant heating panel manufacturer, S & P Coil Products. The heating panels, usually ceiling mounted, incorporate aluminium composite boards. These were previously supplied by the Germany company that produces them, ready cut to the various sizes required.

As part of the cost reduction exercise S & P Coil Products decided to cut the panels itself. It chose a Striebig Compact 4164 vertical panel saw for the job, which has resulted in costs being slashed by up to 15 per cent.

Fitted with an aluminium cutting blade, the saw has a maximum cut size of 3100 x 1644mm and a cutting depth of 60mm. This makes it ideal for cutting the aluminium composite boards which arrive measuring 3.6m in length, 600mm wide and 5.5mm thick.

Said Gary Carter, S & P Coil Products’ Engineering Development Manager “Production of the heating panels used to be totally reliant on deliveries of the ready cut boards from our German supplier. We now keep substantial quantities of the board in stock ready for cutting, which gives us more control over production and also helps to keep carriage costs down.”

Striebig chosen for sturdy build and quality of cut

He looked at several different saws before choosing the Striebig because he was impressed with its sturdy build, the quality of its cut and its accuracy, which is guaranteed to 0.1 mm. In particular he likes the swivel head arrangement that allows it to cut both horizontally and vertically with ease.

Another reason for selecting the Striebig was the wide range of accessories available to increase the saw’s versatility still further. A tool that may be bought is a grooving attachment to allow the edges of the aluminium board to be folded over, giving the finished product more added value.

Among other accessories available are a scoring unit, recommended when sawing coated boards, and an angle-cutting unit.

The Compact has a single, fully welded sawing frame to give decades of reliable service whilst maintaining cutting precision. It is suitable for cutting practically all sheet materials including wood-based panels and plaster board. Models are also available with a maximum cut size of 4600 x 2070mm and 4600 x 2200mm.

S & P Coil Products said that with the cost reductions already achieved, the saw’s pay-back period will be around 18 months. The switch to in-house sawing was part of an overall cost reduction exercise that has already achieved total savings of around 60 per cent, making the radiant heating panels far more competitively priced.

The Leicester-based company is a specialist manufacturer of a range of heating and cooling products that include fan convectors, coil heat exchangers and air conditioning equipment. It’s largely public sector customers include hospitals, schools and colleges, churches and libraries.

The saw, together with a linked Alko mobile dust extraction unit, was supplied and installed by Striebig’s exclusive UK distributor, T.M. Machinery Sales, who also provided on-site training.