THE PANELMASTERS ARE BACK ON TRACK!
Every industry needs innovators. The realm of fencing is no different.
Meet Brett Smith and Bob Ball, two men from deepest Warwickshire who, over the past 33 years, have helped to revolutionise the manufacture of fencing panels.
The duo founded Industrial Timber Technology Ltd (ITT) in 1987 and are now back on track as Southam Automation Ltd with their innovating ways after ITT fell victim to the 2009 credit crunch.
In short, the Panelmasters are back!
Brett, an engineer and machinist by trade who used to work on components for Concorde amongst many other things, explained: “I lived in the same village as Bob and we joined forces to develop a way of automating fence panel production. Bob was a designer and I had my own sawmill at the time and I manufactured fence panels by hand. I decided, as all good engineers do, that there must be an easier way.
‘’We had a few early teething issues with the nailing. With Bobs expertise we eventually got our prototype on track. We nailed it and the Panelmaster was born ! The new machine tripled traditional production output from around 8 to upto 25 waney edge panels per hour.
‘’The quality went up and the quantity went up and word soon spread about the capabilities of our new machine. Larchlap was one of the first companies to show an interest, they doubted our ability until they came over to view the machine themselves. They were
gobsmacked and immediately ordered a machine from us. They went on to order many more machines,“ added Brett.
Brett and Bob pushed the business forward to the point where they had 30 staff operating out of a 10,000 square foot factory near Rugby and invested in CAD technology as well as a CNC milling machine to ease the production process.
“We were soon getting requests for machines that could automate the manufacture of feather edge fencing as well as trellises, sheds, pallets and timber frame houses.
‘’We were years in advance of other manufacturing options available
in the market and none quite matched up to the production capabilities of the Panelmaster. The competition tried to match us but failed.
‘’By the time of the credit crunch we had supplied over 240 Panelmaster machines to around 150 fencing and timber firms but the writing was on the wall with customers going bankrupt and orders drying up. It was devastating for us both. All of the time, effort and considerable investment we’d put into building Industrial Timber Technology seemed to have gone to waste.
‘’Bob continued servicing and maintaining existing customers’ machines whilst I took time out only to re-emerge in recent years with a renewed enthusiasm and faith in our own powers of innovation.
‘’It was clear that there was still considerable interest in the Panelmaster so Bob and I got back into the workshop to continue to update and improve the machines. We hired a large work space and set to work on reviving the business.
‘’Our machines are now more robust and computerised with touch screen technology enabling an even smoother and more accurate production process. We’ve built ten new machines so far as well as restoring older machines. We never advertise ourselves but the orders just keep coming.
‘’Bob visited a customer recently and noticed that the counters on their two new machines recorded 170,000 fence panels in just 18 months. Panelmaster machines really can transform production capacity making it much easier for retailers to cope and adapt to peak periods of demand such as the aftermath of our growing number of storms.
‘’We had always been a great team with Bob’s design and creative skills complimenting my ‘hands on’ manufacturing expertise as well as business and sales knowledge.
‘’There is nothing better for an engineer than to be solving problems. It’s when Bob and myself feel most alive. Nothing beats engaging in a process that will ultimately make thing better but neither of us would be able to do this without the support of our wives. My wife Sue and Bob’s other half Pam have been fantastic.
‘’Word is starting to spread yet again. We had built a great reputation with the first incarnation of ITT and it appears that is still the case for Southam Automation. It’s great to be back!’’ Brett concluded.
The innovators are back in town!
Southam Automation 07902 789252
