SANDERSON BROTHERS INVEST IN NEW SCM WOODWORKING MACHINERY

Sanderson Brothers Invest In SCM Machines

Located in the village of Inglewhite, a few miles from Preston, Lancashire, Sanderson Brothers have recently undertaken a major investment in SCM machines to continue their expansion plans.

Adjacent to a former workhouse and their old factory, Sanderson Brothers have built a brand new modern factory extension covering in excess of 6,000 square feet because they needed to update their old, traditional machines, provide a timber storage area, office space and in general, create a more “user friendly” working environment.

After contacting several potential machinery suppliers, owner Ian Sanderson, asked Richard Haydock of RJ Woodworking Machinery from St Helens to visit to discuss his machinery requirements and advise him on the latest technology available.

Ian Sanderson, comments ”Richard Haydock was able to give us excellent advice and recommend the correct machines for all the varied work we specialise in, from windows, doors, stairs, flooring, and in-fact anything to be made in wood. He took us to Andy Corless Joinery, a few miles up the M6, and I viewed a complete factory kitted out with SCM machines. Andy Corless was extremely pleased with all his SCM Machines and above all, the service and back-up he receives from both RJ Machinery and SCM. I had no hesitation in placing an order for a total of 12 Machines.”

Ian Sanderson, whose great grandfather founded the family business in 1898 as joinery manufacturers and undertakers, employs 2 qualified, highly skilled wood machinists and an apprentice. Most of their work is obtained by recommendation and is concentrated in the local Ribble Valley area, Lancashire and Cheshire. With barn conversions and period houses, many purchased by footballers from the many clubs in the North West, there is a huge demand for high quality joinery, much if it being “one-off” or special assignments, and this is where Sanderson Brothers come into their own.

Ian Sanderson continues “We manufacture hardwood windows, doors and stairs, the majority of which is in oak, for churches, Grade 1 and 2 listed buildings, barn conversions, etc. Therefore, the machines we purchased had to be flexible and provide us with the capacity to produce a single item or short runs, so the machinery has to be set- up quickly and efficiently. This has certainly proven the case and as whereas a job on our old machines would have taken 4 to 5 hours, the same job is now completed in under 2 hours, thus giving us the capacity to take an much more work and further expand the business.”

An old planer/ moulder was discarded and a new SCM Compact 4XL, a 4-headed machine installed with the option of a universal head to be fitted later. “We were frightened to death when it first arrived” stated Ian Sanderson “as we had never seen such a machine before, but now, after training, we absolutely love it and couldn’t do without it! Any of us can set the machine up in minutes, run the job and this gives us a huge time saving with the quality coming off the Compact superb.”

A Sandya 3S RCS Wide Belt Sander for finishing windows and doors, an SI350 Sliding Table Panel Saw, and a T130 ELT Electronic Spindle Moulder are just some of the many SCM machines installed. “The Spindle Moulder with it’s electronic controls enable us to do many jobs in very fast times, especially when scribing all our windows” commented Ian Sanderson “before we set up manually, ran a piece, corrected the errors, tried another until we got it right. Now we set up and run the job and we know its correct first time, every time. SCM’s engineer, Kevin Higgins, was excellent installing and demonstrating the machine and its capabilities to all of us.”

Other machines installed include a T130 NLL Spindle Moulder, S630 Thicknesser, F410 Nova Surfacer, S600P Bandsaw, R800/RVP 200 Band Re-saw, SCM/Centauro BVO Morticer and a Radial Arm Cross- cut Saw.

Concluding, the large investment by Sanderson Brothers is really paying off, and they are going out to the marketplace to bring in more work. With fast set-up times, the quality and accuracy coming off the machines, the intention, in the longer term, is to buy a CNC machining centre, but at the moment, Ian Sanderson and his team are confident their business will continue to grow, with the backing of RJ Wood machinery and the SCM Group.