From Little Acorns Grow Great Oaks

Clare Hollister

When ECC Timber Products was founded by PJ Fahy in 1992, the company could only dream of becoming the success it is today. Over 30 years later, the company has evolved into a €100m+ turnover business with over 150 staff employed at their facility in County Galway on the west coast of Ireland. Despite the exponential growth the company has enjoyed, one thing has always been a constant: its saw blade sharpening technology from Vollmer UK.

As the Corr na Mona based company has grown, its portfolio has evolved to encompass products for construction, fencing and landscaping, pallet and packaging, motorway fencing, acoustic panel products and much more. The manufacturer processes more than 600,000 tons of timber every year.

Soon after its inception, the company invested heavily in its saw-sharpening facility. During those early days, ECC purchased a CAS bandsaw sharpening machine, an EMS twin-head side grinder, a first-generation bandsaw stellite tipping machine and a VWM bandsaw rolling bench, all from Vollmer. The circular section of the Sawshop was also augmented and propelled forward with the purchase of a Vollmer CHC22H TCT grinder and an FS2A side grinder. This investment was copper fastened over the following years with additions and updates, including CA200 profile grinders, an Alligator stellite tipping machine and more recently, an RC100 automatic levelling and tensioning machine- all from Vollmer. Many of these Vollmer machines are still in active service today – demonstrating the longevity and quality of the brand.

As part of a strategic plan, ECC is currently planning the next phase of their Sawmill upgrade and as an initial part of this, the saw shop that services and maintains circular saws and band saw blades needed to be moved from its previous location. As ECC Timber Products Maintenance Manager, Mr Pat Mullarkey, says: “We needed to move the saw shop on site, and we saw this as an opportunity to invest in a brand-new purpose-built facility. We also saw this as an opportunity to improve quality and create efficiencies. Many of our previous Vollmer machines were 25 years old and had more than served their time. The all-new facility allowed us to invest in the next generation of technology. After the proven performance of Vollmer, we had no intention of looking anywhere else.”

ECC took delivery of a Vollmer CHF840 side grinding machine. This was accompanied by a fully automated CS860 for universal tooth face and top grinding of TCT saw blades with an ND320 robot loading automation system. ECC placed the order in November 2023. Landing in March 2024, the new arrivals have significantly benefitted ECC.

The previous Vollmer circular machines were manually operated and labour-intensive. Pat continues: “We only service saws for our own site. However, we have evolved over the years, and along with many other changes, we currently have a USNR Versagang that takes a box of 25 guided 28” saws per shift. In addition, we have four multi-head cross-cut lines, two board edgers, an 18-saw trimmer and a Ledinek high-speed planer with a splitting module. These machines all run two shifts daily, and many workstations require daily saw blade changes. This means we go through a lot of saw blades. This placed significant demands on our saw shop, the old Vollmer machines and our ability to service the fast-paced production department with the quality required.”

Pat continues: “We we wanted to introduce automation to alleviate bottlenecks and to aid staff in achieving throughput. Previously, we had an operator constantly loading, unloading and tending to the manual machines. Now, our operator can fully load the ND320 with upward of 25 heavier circular saw blades with a diameter of up to 840mm and a weight of up to 20kg. Once loaded, the automated measuring and probing of the saw blades inside the machine enable the operator to load the ND320, select the preset recipes, press start and let the machine do the rest. This means the new CS860 can run for an entire shift unmanned.”

Concluding on the investment in the two new Vollmer machines, Pat says: “The automated CS860 and the CHF840 have made a massive impact on everything from labour, manufacturing efficiency and productivity in the saw shop to precision, quality and improved saw service life in the sawmill. We have had the machines for a few months, and we still haven’t fully challenged or utilised the benefits of Vollmer’s latest CNC technology.”

https://www.vollmer-group.com/en-uk