Avantek Machinery has built an enviable reputation in the industry for its ability to respond to customers’ needs in a fast and efficient manner, including Leicestershire-based TruFrame – largely due to the fact that it carries a wide range of machinery in stock.
But that proficiency also applies when it comes to sourcing new machinery, as one super-fabricator recently discovered.
Formed by David Firmager in 1994, TruFrame occupies a 50,000 ft² manufacturing site in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, and services window installers and trade outlets all over the UK.
When TruFrame’s Director, Patrick Firmager, visited the German Fensterbau Frontale exhibition he was looking for machinery and resources that could help the company expand even further.
One issue that Patrick was looking to resolve was to do with gearing croppers used at TruFrame – for cutting locking strips on windows and doors to size. The existing solution was costing the operation time and money. He’d spotted a new type of gear cropper online and thought Fensterbau was the ideal opportunity to see it in action and find out more.
Together with Martin Burney, TruFrame’s Technical Director, and Nigel Bishop, Avantek’s Sales Director, Patrick saw a demonstration of the Reiplinger BS Multi-Max BeSt 40. Despite the significant investment involved, they could see the benefits this new type of gear cropper could bring to TruFrame’s operations.
Going hydropneumatic
A gearing cropper acts with a guillotine-type motion, which needs to stay sharp for a clean cut. The existing croppers at TruFrame were pneumatically (air) operated and, with only one cutting surface, needed regular maintenance due to them being in constant use. This meant lots of costly downtime.
The Reiplinger gear cropper is hydropneumatic, meaning it uses oil and air to perform a swift, clean-cut – and its cutting tool is made from eight edges. This ingenious design means that all eight edges can be used in turn when one starts to become worn, so the machine is operational for eight times longer.
Nigel Bishop offered to arrange the shipping and installation of a gear cropper for TruFrame to try out, utilising his contacts and Avantek’s own supply chain to smooth the process quickly. This meant that the first Reiplinger gear cropper was installed at TruFrame’s impressive headquarters within just four weeks of their return to the UK.
Martin Burney was thrilled with its performance, commenting: “The BS – Multi-Max BeSt 40 is a whole new level of cropper and has transformed the way we trim hardware. It’s reliable and powerful, and more importantly gives a clean, neat cut every time. In addition, because of the 8-sided cutting tool, we’ve instantly see a reduction in consumable costs, as well as making us more productive!”
Impressive performance
Patrick concluded: “We were so impressed with the performance of the first Reiplinger cropper we commissioned, that we immediately ordered another six! They are now all installed at TruFrame, helping us to deliver our mission of producing the finest Liniar uPVC windows and doors in the UK.
“It was much easier for us to work with Avantek than trying to organise everything ourselves. They’re experts in dealing with the shipping and paperwork, so all we had to do was make sure we disposed of the old gear croppers.
“The Avantek team were so responsive, which meant that there were no delays – between first seeing the gear cropper at Fensterbau to getting all seven installed was a matter of weeks! Great customer service and we’re delighted with the results!”
Contact us if you would like more information about the Reiplinger BS – Multi-Max BeSt 40.