Punch Drunk

• Browse By Section
• Aluminium Systems
• Punch Drunk

The UK aluminium window and door industry is ‘drunkenly’ buying punch tools imported expensively and cumbersomely from around the world when they could be bought from here in the UK, says Adam Jones.

Jones is a director of Jade Engineering which operates out of Coventry. The company has been supplying window manufacturing machinery tools and consumables for more than 15 years.

He says: “Many aluminium systems companies operating in the UK are divisions of overseas operations and have traditionally bought their machine tools and especially punch tools, from manufacturers in mainland Europe and even further afield. We have been told by a number of their fabricator customers, that due to increasingly complex, post-Brexit, customs legislation, the supply and repair of such products, is slow and problematic.

“Import has its difficulties but it is the export of old tools for refurbishment that especially comes with delays and other issues that, for such a crucial but relatively low-cost product, is cumbersome, expensive and subject to considerable disruption.”

British is best

Jade Engineering supplies every fabricator of PVC-U window and door frames in the UK, with ongoing supply agreements with every PVC-U systems house. The firm has a similar and growing number of relationships with aluminium frame makers and many of their systems suppliers.

Jones says: “The punch tools and other products that we supply are as good as anything manufactured anywhere in the world and actually, better than most. We supply punch tools from stock when we have supply agreements with systems companies, able to call them off and deliver literally within hours.

“I hesitate to use the ‘British is best’ tag but in this case it makes sense,” added Adam. “Punch tool refurbishment is managed in hours rather than weeks or even months and there is no threat to the supply chain due to wars, hurricanes and the odd barge caught in the Suez canal.”

Picture: Jade Engineering makes window manufacturing machinery and tools.

www. jade-eng.co.uk

Article written by Cathryn Ellis
19th December 2023

Share

Related Articles