14 | Opinion
FAST FORWARD WITH NEW TECHNOLOGY
Michael Weinig UK (Ltd) managing director Malcolm Cuthbertson sees exciting prospects ahead for timber processing machinery
In a career spanning over 40 years, I have seen a huge change in the wood processing industry. Having started out as a user and then a buyer of machinery I jumped to the selling side over 24 years ago joining Weinig. Retirement beckons and a successor will be required soon, so I am grateful to the TTJ for the chance to refl ect and look to the future.
Long gone are the days of square blocks and highly skilled machinists as the mouldings production environment is now dominated by HSK tool technology. It was the introduction of HSK by Weinig 20 years ago that was the last technology game changer in our industry and to have seen it adopted by all forward- thinking mouldings manufacturers gives me a real sense of pride. But what’s next?
Already clearly visible is the shortage of skilled machinists and labour in general, which are the two factors that will infl uence our sector in the coming years. The adoption of HSK tooling has in itself reduced skill levels in setting a moulder. Couple this with modern machine software setting systems using digital displays linked to the toolroom and today’s technology bears no resemblance to that seen 20 years ago. The next step will be planning and information related, where software will schedule orders to appropriate machines and plan capacity to maximise effi ciency and effectively manage a mill with complete transparency of information to all departments. This will include to the toolroom, which is where the adoption of CNC profi le grinders will only increase as our pool of skilled labour reduces. General labour shortages, increasing wage costs and the fact our industry is not seen as glamorous will drive the demand for automation higher. Typically, high speed
lines where the application of automation predominated, but the trend is already evident for automation around standard moulders, turning them into one-man operating cells. Many benefi ts arise from automation and the price/performance ratio of automatic feeding devices is heading in the right direction. The key will be to fi nd that balance between fl exibility of application and savings – I have never yet met that 0.5 of an operator that was saved! They are either there or not there. Very apparent has been the rise of all types of engineered wood-based products including MDF, CLT, glulam, LVL and many more. Leading the fi eld in the UK is MDF in the second fi x sector which has made signifi cant inroads into what was a solid timber domain. There are many research projects ongoing that maximise the use of wood and I see clever variations of CLT coming to the construction sector in the next few years that will open up opportunities for timber processors. Skill reduction and automation will be key to effi cient and profi table manufacturing, but new timber- based products need to come to market.
I look forward to the remaining time I will spend with
Weinig and will retire knowing nothing can replace the natural feel and beauty of wood. ■
Already clearly visible is the shortage of skilled machinists and labour in general, which are the two factors that will influence our sector in the coming years
TTJ | March/April 2025 |
www.ttjonline.com
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