11 minute read
Updates
Businesses trading timber urged to prepare for change ahead of 1st January 2021
Businesses trading timber between Great Britain (GB) and Northern Ireland (NI) are being urged by the UK Government to take action to ensure they are prepared for the end of the transition period on 31st December 2020.
The Government has confirmed that: due diligence checks will take place on timber flowing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland; due diligence checks will take place on timber flowing from the EU to GB, and GB to EU; no new due diligence checks will take place on timber flowing from NI to GB; and no new due diligence checks will take place on timber flowing from the EU to NI.
There will be no changes to the current process for businesses importing from outside of the EU and UK producers first placing timber on the internal market – they will still need to carry out due diligence as before.
To comply with their obligations, timber traders will be required to tell the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS): and who they bought the timber from; who they sold it to (regardless of species, product or country of origin), through evidence such as an invoice. Both traders and operators (importers) will be required to keep records for five years.
In the same way as they do now, operators are required to exercise due diligence to ensure that timber and timber products have not been illegally harvested. The changes will be relevant to a range of businesses that use timber, including importers and operators, exporters, those working in the construction industry, furniture manufacturers, paper and pulp manufactures, and the forestry industry. There will be no change to the way timber due diligence requirements are enforced. However, failure to comply with the timber regulations and enforcement ranges from warning letters, through to court cases, to an unlimited fine and up to two years in prison.
Importers of timber from third countries already have to carry out due diligence, except if they are importing from a country which has an operational Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) in place and that import is covered by a forest law enforcement, governance and trade (FLEGT) licence.
From 1st January 2021, the European Timber Regulation (EUTR) and FLEGT will become UK domestic legislation as the UK Timber Regulations and FLEGT. The requirements under the UK Regulations remain the same as under EUTR.
Free guidance and tools are available on the OPSS website and on gov.uk.
Quickfit TL5 dowels combine versatility with performance
The new and innovative Quickfit TL5 Full Metal Jacket dowels from cabinet hardware expert Titus provide strong, reliable joints in all types of wooden materials, including MDF, chipboard and solid wood. This means that it is no longer necessary to use different dowels for different materials, or to reinforce joints by adding supplementary wooden dowels.
In addition, the new dowels – which are part of the Titus Engineered for Your Kitchen programme – offer fast, tool-free insertion, reducing assembly time by up to -50% for home-assembled furniture. Alternatively, for maximum efficiency in volume production applications, they can be inserted automatically using Titus FastFit machines.
Quickfit TL5 dowels, which are used in conjunction with Titus Cam5000 cams, incorporate an expanding steel sleeve that provides high resistance to torsion and pull-out. This ensures rigid furniture construction, with complete freedom from the tendency for joints to loosen over time. Furniture using the dowels can also be disassembled and reassembled repeatedly without compromising joint integrity.
The dowels are designed for insertion into a 5mm hole and, on insertion, they positively and reliably engage with the hole, greatly simplifying subsequent assembly steps. When edge-inserted, the dowels immediately engage with the cam and remain securely positioned until the cam is tightened.
A further key feature is that the special design of the dowel head adopted for these innovative and time-saving products means that the performance of Quickfit TL5 dowels is unaffected by edge-to-hole-centre (ETHC) tolerances of up to ±1mm. Therefore, they easily accommodate not only drilling inconsistencies, but also the natural movement of wooden panels.
The dowels can be supplied in versions to suit ETHC dimensions of 24mm and 34mm. The required hole diameter for the face board is 5mm, and for the edge board 8mm. The minimum hole depth in the face board is 12.5mm.
www.titusplus.com
The future of carpentry
Before the breakout of Covid-19, Hoffmann Machine Company was invited to visit Newark College to demonstrate some of its range of machines and jointing system techniques to the joiners and carpenters of the future. As well as the Morso Notch Guillotine, Hoffmann demonstrated the Hoffmann MU-3, and the Hoffmann MU-3 with Face Frame Jig fitted. Present for the demonstrations were both full-time and apprentice students, as well as lecturers.
Hoffmann UK director John Galvin gave a brief talk on the company’s history and ethos, and the development of Hoffmann’s machinery and the jointing system.
He then demonstrated a system to manufacture cabinet frames (as found in country-style kitchens) which use a beaded frame as a fine detail. Using the Morso Notch Guillotine and the MU-3 (with a jig fitted), a complete beaded face frame was produced in minutes – much to the amazement of the students and lecturers.
Using the MU-3 machine, simple mitre joints and butt joints were also made. Under John’s supervision and guidance, many of the students used the equipment to produce a range of sample joints of their own.
Furniture Studies lecturer Richard Preece comments: “The students really enjoyed the demonstrations, as they were being shown a system that was something new to them. They could actually put what they were learning in traditional furniture production into context, in terms of a more mechanised, time-saving process. One apprentice even asked for details to take back to his employers, as he could see the benefits the Hoffmann Dovetail System could bring to their own workplace.
“It was a worthwhile demonstration from the Hoffmann team, which we can hopefully repeat for our next intake of learners.”
01524 841500 www.hoffmann-uk.com
TheInsertCo_JA.indd 1 23/03/2018 11:58
Employee-owned business Kite Packaging is one of the UK’s largest packaging distributors, offering a range of solutions suited to all industries. Often the hub of many businesses, warehouses commonly see an increase in activity at this time of year. To support operations, Kite takes a brief look at some of the benefits of pallet wrap and pallet wrap systems, and reminds businesses of the importance of applying and using pallet wrap correctly …
Not only does Kite have a vast range of solutions, it also has specialist pallet wrap engineers that are on hand to offer support and advice and have access to manual pull plate tests, electronic force/ puncture tests and technology lab testing.
Some key benefits of using pallet wrap and pallet wrap systems include: securing palletised products during transit; protection from dust, dirt, and moisture; prevention of damage to goods; improving pallet stability; reducing the risk of injury; increasing efficiency and speed; reducing waste; saving money; supporting towards best practice and quality; and preventing accidents during transportation and storage.
For more information, refer to Kite’s whitepaper on the brochure section of its website, or call the company on 02476 420065
SCM Group wins SMAU Innovation Prize
The acknowledgement received at the 57th edition of the Innovation Trade Fair in Milan was for digital services, combined with SCM machinery for wood and CMS machines for machining composites, plastic, marble, glass and metal – solutions that make the group’s technologies increasingly more efficient, intelligent and connected.
SCM and CMS, two benchmark brands, were key players in the 57th edition of SMAU, the annual innovation trade fair held at the Fieramilanocity on 20th-21st October. The digital software and services integrated with the SCM machines for machining wood and the CMS machines for composites, plastic, marble, glass and metal, won the SMAU Innovation Prize.
General manager, Marco Mancini, picked up the award on behalf of the SCM Group during the SMAU Live Show event on the topic of “Interconnection of integrated and digital production systems and processes: the factory turns smart”.
The prize is an important acknowledgement of the high innovative value offered by the SCM and CMS industrial machines, complete with digital services and Internet of Things (IoT) systems that render the end customers’ factories – from the furniture industry to construction, from automotive to aerospace, from nautical to plastic materials – better in terms of efficiency and productivity.
The case of SCM Group’s excellence, illustrated and awarded at SMAU, is an example of how industrial machines are changing from pure mechanics and becoming increasingly more intelligent and smart, connected and integrated into the entire factory, in line with the needs of Industry 4.0.
In particular, once the sensors have acquired all the data and information on how the machine is functioning, this is transmitted and integrated onto the internet and converted into added-value services for the end customer.
Examples of the services include: constant monitoring and analysis of the machine’s state of repair and performance, anywhere and at any time; instant interaction and sharing of information between the customer and technical service provided, even remotely; and a significant reduction in time and cost when resolving technical problems, thanks to the possibility of identifying them in real time, and even preventing them by using the performance-monitoring data acquired.
All this is made possible by SCM’s Maestro Connect IoT and CMS’ CMS Connect platforms, which allow the end customer to constantly work as efficiently and productively as possible.
“Innovation, digitalisation and customer support services,” says Marco, “are the key players behind our group’s success, especially for the SCM and CMS divisions. Even in the machinery sector, the ongoing trend is a shift away from being machine manufacturers and towards service providers which place customers’ real needs at the centre, as well as the optimisation of their production processes and business plans.”
The SMAU Live Show event, moderated by journalist Simona Regina from Radio Rai, can be seen here: https://livestream. com/accounts/1540476/events/9350151/ videos/212321378
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Castle Pocket Routers from ATA Engineering Castle Pocket Routers from ATA Engineering
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