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DAWS Opens Up On Fifth New Kombimatec
Door And Window Systems, a Liverpool based fabricator, has continued to increase productivity with the installation of its fifth new Kombimatec machine in...
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Jade Is A Diamond
Jade Engineering claims to be the jewel in the crown as Britain’s most prolific manufacturer of machine tools for the production of PVC-U and aluminium window, door and conservatory frames.
According to Jade the majority of systems companies in the UK consider Jade as the go-to solution provider for every new fabricator they set-up. These, in turn, become repeat customers when they need to replace machine tools or implement expansion plans. Jade reckons that this means that during the past decade the vast majority of window and door frames manufactured for the home improvement market in the British Isles have been manufactured using machine tools designed and engineered by Jade Engineering.
Single Function Machines
Joint directors Adam Jones and Sean Mackay say that they are both proud of this statistic but toolmaking is just one aspect of the company’s portfolio. Jade also offers a range of single function machines that are designed to perform key tasks including milling, cutting, cleaning and welding. These machines are designed to supplement the CNC-controlled work centres that dominate the industry now.
“The strength of CNC is it is designed to perform multiple tasks quickly and efficiently with precise quality every time and across a large volume of frames. But that is also a weakness when short run or one-off tasks are required.”
– Adam Jones
Director, Jade Engineering
Time
“Resetting and reprogramming a work centre is cumbersome, costly and ultimately disruptive to the workflow,” adds Jade’s Jones. “Our machines are straightforward, carrying out single tasks accurately, efficiently and with minimal set up required. And many of the most sophisticated fabrication facilities in the UK have our standalone machines dotted around their factories, in between the Schirmers, Rotox’s and Urbans.”
Knowing the business
Jones adds: “Being the largest toolmaker in the market has given us an intimate understanding of each of the key processes involved in fabricating PVC-U and aluminium frames. As a result, we have a forensic understanding of the frame production process. This has led to a third string to the Jade bow - production consultancy and design.
“Beginning with sometimes casual conversations about problems encountered with specific elements of a customer’s process, our team will give thought to the issue and come up with a solution.
“This element of what we do began very informally. Yet grew steadily as we gained a reputation as problem solvers. Some of our clients then began scaling their discussions up with us, from glitches in specific areas of their production, to designing and sourcing whole production lines.”
Kombimatec
In 2017 Jones and co-director Sean Mackay purchased 50% of the share capital of Bedfodshire based Kombimatec Machinery, taking the firm into more sophisticated and complex fabrication solutions. Outright acquisition of SALtech Machinery and Edgwick Sheet Metal further strengthened the firm’s ability to keep everything in house and allows Jade to design and fulfil sophisticated manufacturing solutions for PVC-U and aluminium fabricators.
“Made in Britain is a tag we are proud to apply,” says Mackay. “With the exception of Kombimatec, which is based in Bedfordshire, our location at Bayton Road, Coventry puts us at the heart of West Midlands’ ‘metal bashing’. The fact that we source everything locally has been a boon as supplies of materials and components from overseas have been difficult in recent years.
“Covid and other global issues have combined to cause interruptions to imports, especially from the Far East, so manufacturing everything locally has become a real advantage. The only issue we have faced has been caused by the incredible surge in demand that the industry has faced - but that has settled and is now under control.”
For the future?
Mackay and Jones say that they see a number of opportunities that would allow the firm to take advantage of the strength of the Jade reputation amongst framemakers: “To prepare for that we have invested in a further 25,000sq.ft factory and office which we will occupy in 2023. Also we have some key people joining us which will allow us to develop,” says Jones.
Picture: A Jade Engineering window manufacturing machine.
Article written by Cathryn Ellis
09th January 2023