The additions form part of a new generation sawmill at the firm’s location in Melmerby. The equipment provides increased speed, quality, quick-change tooling and waste efficiency when profiling wood.
The new investment comes as the firm celebrates its 60th birthday, setting its long-term sights on doubling the throughput of the mill facility and cementing itself as a national leader in the timber industry.
New technology includes two Weinig Powermat 1200 moulders, Weinig Raimann waste-optimising, laser-guided multi-rip saws, a Weinig Rondamat grinder and a Salvador automatic crosscut saw.
The new equipment allows Duffield to cater to customer demands for bespoke precision profiling with a 5-7 working day delivery time.
Duffield said the new moulders can change profile automatically, reducing average set up time from 1 hour to 10 minutes, while their speed of 12,000rpm have double the power of the old machines, profiling timber 200% quicker, at a speed of 30m per minute.
“We’re delighted to be in the position to make such a huge investment in our sawmill,” said Howard Duffield, managing director of Duffield Timber.
“These additions take advantage of the very latest and best that machining technology has to offer.”