The Ferwood Challenge

When sourcing a brand-new machine, you get the benefit of being able to pick the exact specification you want but what if you could do exactly that with a pre-owned machine for a fraction of the cost that could also be delivered and installed on a much shorter lead time? Commercial furniture manufacturer and start-up business, Fusion 10 Joinery, challenged Ferwood to source and install a specific machine in just five weeks and the reconditioned machinery supplier did just that.

“We knew the exact machine we needed to start our commercial joinery business,” begins Lee Oldroyd, Senior Project Manager at Fusion 10 Joinery. “From our experience in the sector, we knew we needed a versatile CNC that could work with a wide range of materials including Ply, MDF, Trespa, Corian and HI-MACS solid surface. It needed to feature cam and pin operations, offer precise routing, work with curved formers, include an offline programming system and have a bed size of 10 x 5 feet. On top of that we needed to work within a limited budget and be delivered and installed quickly. We knew it was a tall ask but we were not willing to settle for anything less.”

Lee knew his demands wouldn’t be easy to fulfil but he needed the right machinery to start his project. With its established machinery partnerships and a global sales network, Ferwood’s reputation as a leading used machinery specialist led Lee to their door: “I worked with Ferwood many years ago and my previous employer purchased three CNC machines from them. I knew they had strong links to the industry and their product knowledge was second to none,” says Lee. “I was right to give them a call. Not only did they have the means to source the kind of machine I was after, they had the exact specification I needed – and in budget – already in stock in their Italian factory. What I thought was going to be a challenge, turned out to be a very simple process with Ferwood.”

The Wakefield-based joinery company purchased a Weeke BP 145 machining centre, which offered them the flexibility to create bespoke, one-off pieces, as well as work quickly and efficiently on larger projects for the commercial sector.

“From that initial call, we had every confidence in Ferwood and the services they could offer. They were honest and upfront about everything - exactly how a sales team should be. They gave us a breakdown of the three servicing brands available to us and talked us through the the machine’s specification. The whole process was made really simple,” says Lee.

For prompt delivery, the new business opted for a ‘Ferwood Functional’ machine, which saw the CNC function tested by a Ferwood specialist prior the installation process and a video of the machine in action sent to Lee and his team to make sure they were satisfied with how it performed before it was shipped.

The Weeke CNC was installed on time, with introductory training given on site. “The engineer was brilliant and really helpful,” says Lee. “He was with us all week and trained the team on the fundamentals of the CNC. The process ran like clockwork and the introduction of the CNC machine has already helped us win time-sensitive contracts. In under 12 months, we’ve reached a turnover of £800k and we expect to reach £1.5 million within two years. This couldn’t have been achieved without investing in good quality machinery.”

Lee concludes, “Some people dismiss used machinery before looking into it but before making your next machinery purchase, why not challenge Ferwood to find you your ideal machine? On this occasion, we simply wouldn’t have been able to afford a new machine with the specification we needed but even if our budget was bigger, we would always consider buying second hand. Similar to purchasing a new car, it will lose much of its value as soon as it’s turned on. If you’re confident with the service you get from your used machinery supplier, there are many great benefits to buying a used CNC.”