The Flexibility of Flexstore

When it came time to relocate to a new factory, Ben Fatchen of Cabinet Systems decided to use the opportunity to reassess their production and manufacturing processes. Needing to increase both production and efficiency, Ben worked with SCM Group Australia to come up with a solution that would address the problems they were experiencing with small batch processing and waste costs.

“At first we were considering adding another nesting machine to the factory, however the more we heard about Flexstore, the more we realised it was an option really worth considering,” said Ben. “The idea of a second nesting machine soon became obsolete.”

Optimised to handle different sized panels, the Flexstore Storage Handling System can be integrated with almost any machine to help improve productivity and reduce the costs associated with materials handling.

“Once we realised Flexstore would allow a CNC to run continuously, it was an easy choice to make,” said Ben. “Combining our new Flexstore system with a new SCM Morbidelli Universal CNC quickly gave us significant savings on both time and handling costs.”

In the Cabinet Systems factory, the Flexstore Storage System has been set up to communicate seamlessly with the Morbidelli Universal so that the following day’s work can be prepared overnight, helping to reduce downtime. Multiple sheet sizes of the same material can also be prepared, meaning no interruption to workflow throughout the day.

“We’ve also incorporated an SCM Cyflex drilling machine to perform our secondary processes,” said Ben. “This has allowed us to value add to our flatpack options and helps to take some of the pressure off the nesting process.”

Being able to handle multiple sheet sizes of the same material has solved Cabinet System’s initial small batch processing problems. “The waste from small batch cuts was huge and needed a lot of handling, so it was a very expensive process for us,” said Ben. “Flexstore allows us to change sheet sizes on the fly so we can handle just in time orders easily. This has drastically reduced our waste, we’re saving around 15-20 square metres of material each week. When you combine this with the labour costs involved in handling the waste, it’s a substantial saving.”

“We took a big leap of faith in entrusting SCM Group Australia with such a large part of our business. For a company of our size, this has been a major investment,” said Ben. “We’ve had a lot of positive interaction with SCM Group Australia both throughout the sales process and after installation. Everyone made a major contribution in making sure it would work for us, and that’s a huge testament to the way SCM Group Australia conducts their business.”