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US Manufacturing Technology Orders Surge

October 15, 2021 By Editor

Orders for manufacturing technology in August 2021 totaled $560 million, according to the latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders report published by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. August 2021 showed an increase of nearly 20% over July 2021 and 89% over August 2020. The year-to-date total reached $3.55 billion, the highest value through the first eight months of any year since 1998.

The United States Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) Report is based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTO program. This report, compiled by AMT, provides regional and national U.S. orders data of domestic and imported machine tools and related equipment. Analysis of manufacturing technology orders provides a reliable leading economic indicator as manufacturing industries invest in capital metalworking equipment to increase capacity and improve productivity.

“The August numbers highlight the dramatic rebound from sales in 2020,” said Douglas K. Woods, president of AMT. “It was the highest level of orders since September 2018 and the sixth highest in the history of USMTO. The consistent growth in orders across industries seen earlier this year was reversed in August when monthly growth across industries ranged from a decline of 16% to growth over 400%.

“The value of orders placed by machine shops was the highest monthly total since September 2014, reflecting OEMs placing more off-shore component business onto their floor in addition to the expansion of their traditional customer base. Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing had a massive increase in orders. Orders from the aerospace sector increased modestly over July 2021 but still lagged behind their pre-pandemic spending. Forecasts expect output from the aerospace sector to increase steadily through 2024, requiring an eventual increase in the volume of orders.” 

AMT analysts have been following the steady downward trend in consumer confidence since its peak in April 2021. Their research indicates the abnormal summer surge in manufacturing technology orders could serve as an economy-wide stabilizer. Capital investment can alleviate the bottlenecks producers are experiencing due to labor supply issues. This can, in turn, reduce the pressure of inflation consumers are feeling by bringing supply and demand closer to alignment. Assuaging consumers’ fears would lead to more demand and could sustain the tidal wave the manufacturing technology industry is currently riding.

LestaUSA Introduces New Technology to Increase Production Capacity

October 14, 2021 By Editor

LestaUSA has announced its entry into the wood market to allow furniture and woodworking manufacturers of any size to increase capacity by 50% without the need to hire additional staff. This is possible thanks to their self-learning robotic finishing technology and scanning solutions. They made quite the impression last month at AWFS.

LestaUSA builds, integrates, and supports Lesta self-learning robotic and scanning technology designed to streamline finishing operations. The company is dedicated to automating solutions for the finishing industry and has proven solutions for all types of wood production.

“What makes this technology unique is that it’s so simple that manufacturers of any size can be finishing robotically on Day One following installation,” said Derek DeGeest, President of LestaUSA. “Successful painting automation needs software integration for simple spray controls to fine-tune the program and adjust for day-to-day variables. Lesta software gives your painter the tools to control the robotic system’s painting parameters, recipes, and quality. A perfected balance of robot and painter.”

While other robotic finishing technology requires engineers and robotic programmers, Lesta Self-learning robots allow your painter to teach the robot how to paint complicated parts in a weightless self-learning mode. Every gun angle, trigger pull, and spray technique is recorded in real-time, saved, and then duplicated by the robot on future pieces.

LestaUSA is about working together to provide turn-key robotic solutions. This technology addresses the struggles everyone has and will improve the finishing industry for U.S. manufacturers by breaking down the barriers of automating complex parts. LestaUSA builds, integrates, and supports its finishing technology right here in the U.S. Finishing automation isn’t new. Still, the ability to have robots complete the work without complicated programming or teach pendants in North America is. Lesta robotic solutions are innovative and promise to change the way finishing is done.

Lesta technology is available for Cart Systems for complex furniture, a 3D Scanning and Carousel System for panels and drawers, and a 3D Scanning for Overhead Conveyor and Cart Systems for doors. These Lesta solutions can be added to any cart or conveyor system.

“Lesta breaks down the barriers of automating complex parts,” added DeGeest. “It empowers your painter to use their knowledge to automate repetitive painting tasks and frees them up to focus on improving quality. A perfect balance of robot and painter—giving more gun-on time, increasing production, reducing overspray, and improving working conditions.”

The wood industry has unique challenges. Among the biggest is the need to keep up with production demands with existing staff due to the limited availability of workers. Lesta robots solve this challenge in two ways, depending on what’s being painted. For larger pieces, the robot enters a weightless self-learning mode, and it records the precise movements of a human painter and repeats them on future pieces. The robot is programmed using a 2D or 3D scanner for panels, drawers, and doors, and pieces are fed through either a carousel or conveyor system.

Successful painting automation needs software integration that provides spray controls for painters to fine-tune the program and adjust for day-to-day variables. Automating a painting process is about more than a robot spraying parts. It’s also automating part transfer to maximize the robot’s potential and keep it spraying. Scanning and autonomous program generation allow precise robotic automation of gun path, distance, and speed to save time and material.

Woodworking Manufacturing Month Toolkit

September 14, 2021 By Editor

The Marketing Toolkit has been released for the IWF Woodworking Manufacturing Month. The first-ever celebration of woodworking technology and innovation launches in October 2021. 

Woodworking Manufacturing Month (WWMM) is created by WMIA and WMMA and produced by IWF to draw attention to your company’s products, services, and innovations and promote the vitality of our industry — supporting recruitment and investment. 

Under the banner Woodworking Manufacturing: Experience Innovation, Woodworking Manufacturing Month will celebrate woodworking industry vitality on two parallel tracks: A national awareness and outreach campaign operating in tandem with local grassroots programming initiated by participating manufacturers.

In continuous operation for more than a half-century, IWF is one of the world’s top events serving the custom and general woodworking industries with extensive penetration in specialty sectors, including architectural woodwork; cabinetry; flooring; furniture manufacturing; engineered products; doors and windows; machinery, tools and metals; plastics; and more.

IWF has made participation in WWMM simple and easy. Participating companies will be part of a national advertising and promotional campaign. It includes exposure on IWF’s website, in dedicated emails, and social media channels—including direct links to your website. 

Your WWMM Marketing Toolkit includes logos, email templates, digital banner ads, promotional ideas, and more—just about everything you need to run your own programs and be part of the large IWF-produced national campaign. These ready-to-use marketing tools allow you to develop your own local promotions that leverage the momentum developed by the national campaign. To see the full toolkit, go here.

New Partnership for 2020 Ideal Spaces

July 14, 2021 By Editor

2020, the world’s leading provider of applications and enterprise solutions dedicated to interior design, space planning, and furniture manufacturing, is excited to announce that its long-time partnership with Benchmarx has recently evolved, the specialist outlet choosing 2020 Ideal Spaces to enhance its online presence.

Benchmarx is a trade-only specialist outlet supplying high-quality kitchens and joinery products, a one-stop shop catering to businesses of all sizes. As a member of Travis Perkins PLC, Benchmarx is also part of a group of leading companies in the builders’ merchant and home improvement markets in the UK.

Benchmarx was looking to enhance their web experience to get more highly qualified actionable leads through their website, for which 2020 Ideal Spaces was a perfect fit. 2020 has been Benchmarx’s technology partner for 15 years, since the specialist outlet’s establishment in 2006, with the deployment of 2020 Fusion in-store.

With a successful and well-established relationship with 2020, Benchmarx chose their online engagement solution to enhance their online strategy further and enable more leads to get captured on their website.

2020 Ideal Spaces is a cloud-based 3D space planning solution that provides an industry platform enabling omnichannel retail for consumers, home centres, retailers, and manufacturers. It improves the consumer onboarding experience through every step of the buying journey, from inspiration to qualification to space planning to purchase—resulting in higher qualified leads and conversions.

“We were looking to enhance our online engagement and gain more leads,” says Karl Andrews, head of product at Benchmarx. “Since we already had a great partnership with 2020, we assumed their 2020 Ideal Spaces solution would be the perfect fit to deliver more valuable and qualified leads to our business – and we were right! It has already proven to be the case since its launch, and we’re very happy with our decision.”

Using the interactive platform provided by 2020, visitors to Benchmarx’s website can now design and visualize their kitchen with Benchmarx products, collaborate with family and friends, and share their contact details to enable Benchmarx designers to follow up make their dream projects come true.

Live in Las Vegas: AWFS Fair to Take Place in Person

June 1, 2021 By Editor

For years, the AWFS® Fair has been a must-attend event for innovators in the industry. This is where so many businesses introduce their products to the market for the first time, and so it’s always been essential for anyone who wants to stay in the know. To date, approximately 400 companies have booked exhibitor booths for the event, so it promises to be as full of innovation as ever.

For years, the AWFS® Fair has been a must-attend event for innovators in the industry. This is where so many businesses introduce their products to the market for the first time, and so it’s always been essential for anyone who wants to stay in the know. To date, approximately 400 companies have booked exhibitor booths for the event, so it promises to be as full of innovation as ever.

The elephant in the room, or rather, the exhibit hall, is, of course, COVID-19.

“We talk about it every day; it’s a constant moving target,” says Elena Potter, Marketing Coordinator for AWFS®. “We’re making sure to stay up-to-date so we can provide a safe experience for everyone.” 

Unfortunately, the event won’t have any virtual events for those unable to attend in person. And with international travel restrictions in place worldwide, it will be challenging to have as many countries represented as usual. This, however, has not deterred the Association of Woodworking and Furnishings Suppliers.

“The big draw to the AWFS® Fair is seeing the products in person and seeing them in action,” explains Potter. “We’ve had some feedback from others in the industry, and a lot of people agree that an online version of this kind of event doesn’t hold the same kind of value. So we’ve decided to do it exclusively in person.”

And so, to make sure it’s worth it, they’re refining their offerings, making sure to expand on what has been popular in the past, and include new features based on previous feedback. One such feature is the Safety Zone. This will be a section of the floor dedicated to exhibitors looking to highlight and promote that they are committed to providing safety gear for the industry. Safety for the job site and in the shop is essential every day, and in today’s world are even more necessary.

Another new feature will be the Tool Tour. By popular request, exhibitors who specialize in hand and power tools will be placed around the show floor. With the help of the AWFS® Fair app, attendees will be able to go on a tour of all these exhibitors and see what fun new tools they can snag for their shop.

“It will be kind of like an interactive tour,” explains Potter. “Each attendee will get a bingo card with the different exhibitors included in the Tool Tour. When they go to a designated booth on the tour, they can get a stamp on their card. It’s a little like a treasure hunt. When you fill the card, you can present it for a concert-style t-shirt that features all the Tool Tour exhibitors like at Coachella.” 

Fan favourites will also return to the Fair, some of them with a twist. When the Closets & Storage Pavilion came up in conversation, Potter couldn’t say much.

“We’re in the process of adding a more interactive element,” she explained at the time of the interview in late April. “It’s in the works, and we’ll be announcing it soon.”

But some tried-and-true features of the Fair will stay the same such as the Rapid Fire Presentations. Less formal and more spontaneous than the College of Woodworking Knowledge™, these quick, 15-minute exhibitor-led presentations happen on the show floor to demonstrate products and talk about the industry. They’re an excellent opportunity for someone who wants to stay on the move and can’t necessarily want to devote their time to the popular CWWK education program.

The two competitions: the Fresh Wood Competition and the AAW Turning to the Future Competition, will also be back. The Fresh Wood Competition allows attendees to see high school and post-secondary students’ outstanding construction and design achievements. The AAW Turning to the Future Competition is where high school and post-secondary students submit projects made with lathes; finalist projects will be on display, and winners will also be announced at the awards ceremony. This is a fun way to see what young, up-and-coming woodworkers are creating.

“People love to check in on the competitions and see what students are making,” says Potter. “It’s a great chance to see some fine woodworking from students all across the country.”

Besides these two student competitions, many other achievements will be recognized at the AWFS® Visionary Awards. The New Product Awards are prestigious awards recognizing exhibitors for innovation and new-to-market products, including any product introduced to the industry since July 2019. All companies whose entries are accepted will have their product featured in the Visionary New Product Showcase for the show’s duration. 

“These awards are rigorously judged,” says Potter, referring to the panel of third-party judges who select the winner. “So it’s a big deal to get an award.”

Products go head-to-head in the following categories: components; software; industry 4.0; raw materials; plastic machinery/supplies; tooling; machinery under 50K; machinery over 50K; power tools and hardware. Applications for the Visionary Awards remain open until June 2021, and exhibitors can apply online.

While COVID-19 will definitely be an added challenge in organizing the Fair, AWFS has proven itself to be a leader in innovation and is up to the task.

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