edge banding by the kilometre

Whanganui based GDM Retail are a specialist retail fit out company with connections around the globe. Offices in Auckland, Brisbane and Shanghai are supported by a manufacturing hub in Whanganui and joint venture agreements with several factories in Asia, which service a range of large retail clients in New Zealand, Australia and further afield. They recently purchased an SCM Stefani KD edge bander from Machines R Us as they look to adapt and progress in the current international climate.

The SCM Stefani KD edge bander is part of the SCM range of bigger high production models which is exactly what GDM Retail were seeking as they looked to bring home more manufacturing to their Whanganui factory and extend their range of service offerings in the contract cut and clash market.

“Disruptions to market and supply chains, largely brought about by the covid situation, means the import market has changed and we can now compete with the likes of China in furniture and cabinetry supply,” says GDM Retail CEO Michael Eden.

“Shipping joinery includes a lot of air and as costs rise and shipping space decreases we are looking to reduce reliance on imports and gain some control over supply by producing more product locally and at competitive prices.

“We had a relatively new edge bander which had previously suited us however the greater workload with the type of long run contract manufacturing we were taking on required a faster, more robust and bigger machine.

The Stefan KD is certainly that, it has a 20m/min feed speed with overhead pressure belt, full servo positioning of all units from a Windows PC and two pre-melting systems for EVA and PUR glue, paired up to an SCM SGP glue pot to provide fast interchangeable options.

“It is a very heavy duty machine,” says Michael. “We wanted something that was fast and robust enough to get through the kilometres of edge tape we handle and it has performed accordingly.” www.gdmretail.com

“Purchased in the middle of covid when there were virtually no machines available anywhere we were lucky Machines R Us had this option available. We have a good relationship with their local rep Mark Tutty, he let us know it was in stock, we saw it was suited for our requirements and we grabbed it, looking back we wouldn’t have purchased anything different, more options or not.

“The addition of the Stefani edge bander means we can take on large contracts with confidence. For example we are currently doing all the cut, clash and drill work for around 250 bathroom vanities a week for one of our large local clients, something that would have been difficult to sustain prior to purchasing this machine.

“GDM retail has a 40 year history of seeking to continually improve its systems, performance and delivery, having the best available machinery for the job such as the Stefani KD is a vital part of that.

Continuous and versatile solutions for quality machining are the distinctive features of Stefani KD