MASTERWOOD PROJECT DOES IT ALL AT CHARLTON

A Masterwood CNC machining centre has played in a key role in the transformation of a Bristol wood business.

When Jon Hyams bought a small shopfitting company in 1992 it had an annual turnover of £64,000.

He has developed it into Charlton Projects, a highly successful timber milling, joinery and shopfitting specialist with a turnover approaching the £1m mark. It has 20 employees and a roster of big-name national customers.

The company's growth has been assisted by the Masterwood Project 320K RL CNC machining centre.

Machine operator Scott Rowley (left) and Jon Hyams with a staircase component produced on the Masterwood Project at Charlton Projects.

The highly versatile 4.5m long bed Project handles almost all of the company's machining work. It includes panel work, such as putting mouldings and beadings on MDF sheet, machining Perspex sheets and putting tongues and grooves in boarding.

It also produces complicated curved and shaped beading work for shopfitting and office furniture projects, doors with curved heads and frames, curved and shaped windows and staircase components.

The Project has replaced three other pieces of traditional equipment; an overhead router, a spindle moulder and a stair trencher.

Said Mr Hyams: "It has definitely helped us to increase our profitability. If we did not have it, we could not have become the size we are without taking on a lot more extra staff.

"It gives a consistent accuracy you cannot get with hand work. Even the best joiner in the world can't get anywhere near it."

Jon Hyams, owner of Charlton Projects, with the Masterwood Project CNC machining centre that has helped grow the Bristol company.

The Project uses Masterworks, the Masterwood's standard operating software, and the purpose-designed MasterStair software developed for designing and machining staircase components.

MasterStair substantially speeds up the production of straight and conventional winder flights on CNC machining centres.

"MasterStair is unique and the most user-friendly and comprehensive CAM/CAD software for staircase makers of all the packages available today," said Masterwood (UK) Ltd's managing director Russell Corlett. "We had it thoroughly field tested at a number of staircase manufacturers which was an extremely worthwhile exercise.

Charlton Projects was attracted to Masterwood because it was a 'one-stop shop' that was able to supply both the machining centre and its own specialist software.

Said Mr Hyams: "The software was very easy to learn and within a week of training we were producing round windows. You don't need to be computer experts. Our machine operator is a former car mechanic we have trained up in-house."


All enquiries to Masterwood (UK) Ltd, Telephone 01436 675000, Fax 01436 678999, Email masterwooduk@aol.com.

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