Striebig cuts a dash at Innov 8

A Striebig vertical panel saw has brought increased efficiency to Innov 8 Ltd, a small, highly successful Doncaster company that specialises in creating bespoke display solutions. Set up in 1994 by founder and managing director Kevin Lund to project manage interior design contracts, it has since enlarged its services to deliver a total turnkey package.

This covers all the design work, production of prototypes, manufacture and installation. Among the eye-catching items it produces are complete retail interiors, touch screen displays, illuminated displays, information points, visitor displays, food retailing areas and exhibition stands, amply demonstrating the company’s motto, ‘Ideas into Reality’. Its most recent venture has been the introduction of al-cove, a linked workstation and screen system to meet the requirements of today’s workplace.

With such blue-chip names as ICI, Proctor & Gamble, Saatchi & Saatchi, the Chelsea Building Society and Lloyds of London listed amongst its clients, the young, enterprising business posted a turnover of £750,000 in its last financial year, its best yet. One of the secrets of its success is the use of a wide mix of materials, with designs calling for combinations of wood, metal, plastic, glass, vinyl, stainless steel, marble and other finishes, depending on the brief.

Striebig Compact improves efficiency and quality

When it recently decided to invest in a new saw for the joinery workshop to make its cutting operations more efficient, a major stumbling block was the lack of available space. This was overcome by choosing a Striebig Compact vertical panel saw, supplied by the Swiss manufacturer’s sole UK agent, TM Machinery Sales Ltd of Leicester. Kevin Lund is delighted with the advantages provided by the saw. “After agreeing we needed a vertical model because of space constraints, we looked at what was on offer before deciding to buy the Striebig. I consider it’s the best vertical panel saw on the market in terms of quality of build, accuracy, ease of use and its labour saving capabilities. “Although it’s not the cheapest saw we looked at, we knew we were buying into quality.

We have not been disappointed as it has made cutting better, quicker and simpler and enabled us to become more efficient.” The Compact is the smallest in the Striebig range, but packs the same high performance as larger models. It has been designed to meet the needs of users who require a small vertical panel saw for all their sizing cuts. The TRK 5207 chosen by Innov 8 measures 5.7m long, 2.8m high and a space-saving 1.5m from wall to front. It can size panels to a maximum of 4600mm x 2070mm and has a maximum depth of cut of 60mm (a smaller model is available to handle panels to a maximum size of 3100mm x 1644mm).

Among the array of features that guarantee precise, accurate cuts with perfect edges every time, are a rigid, self-supporting, heavily braced and welded saw frame, 15 roller panel supports with workpiece locking, a perfectly balanced saw unit for high operating convenience and a quiet 3kW motor, thanks to super-silent sound insulation. It also has adjustable penetration and generously dimensioned longitudinal stops.

It cuts smooth edges on particle boards, acrylics, composites, plastics and non-ferrous metal panels to an accuracy of 1/10mm with the help of the optional digital measuring system. The support rollers are aligned and ground to a precision of 1/100mm as a further guarantee of Striebig’s unlimited measuring precision. Innov 8 use it for all their panel cutting work on wood-based products, chiefly MDF, chipboard and laminates, as well as with plastic sheets. It has also been used to cut 48mm thick solid wood doors, a job it did without any difficulty. An elderly bench saw was used before which, although it had an extending table, only ripped panels up to10ft x 5ft and squared panels up to a maximum of 2ft x 2ft.

The Striebig can square panels up to 7ft square and accommodate the largest sheets they use, which are MDF boards measuring 9ft x 6.5ft. Says joinery foreman Steve Cross: “The quality of the cut is first class. It’s straighter, squarer and cleaner than before so there’s no longer any need for replaning. It’s also labour saving. With the bench saw we needed two men to haul the panels across the workshop and place and hold them in position, but with the Striebig it’s a one man job to easily position all but the largest panels. Doing multiple cuts is also now a one-man job.” He says the horizontal and vertical digital measuring system is a great benefit. “We no longer make sizing mistakes as you are not reliant on someone doing the job by eye. As long as we put in the exact measurements required that’s exactly what the saw does, time after time. Unless you abuse it it can’t do anything wrong, for example if we haven’t put the stops on travel it won’t cut, which is a great safety advantage.”

He adds that it’s easy to use with minimal training needed for the joinery staff, all time served bench hands, and it has overcome the problem of lack of floorspace. Innov 8 also chose the optional scoring saw unit. This gives perfect edges on hard, brittle or fibrous surfaces such as MFC, laminated boards and veneered panels. They have also made up their own angle cutting unit so they can cut panels at any angle required. The design of the Compact results in low dust emissions, with an extraction performance less than 2mg/m3 total dust based on an average working shift of eight hours. To take away the dust TM Machinery Sales supplied an Al-Ko mobile dust extraction unit that Steve Cross says works very well and keeps the surrounding areas in the joinery dust free. Innov 8 prides itself on designing and producing top quality products that meet the demanding needs of its customers. With its precise accuracy, speed and ease of use, the Striebig saw is helping the company improve even more on its reputation for delivering quality.