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[March 2002]
Craven Fawcett Lays a New Foundation
Joseph Rhodes Ltd (Wakefield, West Yorks, England), a leading manufacturer of CNC metalforming machinery, delivered an update on 8 March 2002 on its successful completion of the mutually beneficial acquisition of Craven Fawcett Ltd, Britain's most established clayworking machinery manufacturer.Craven Fawcett first moved to the Joseph Rhodes eight-acre site in April 2000. Operating as separate companies, the potential synergistic benefits from a merger became quickly visible and an acquisition was therefore seen as the natural step.
Both companies have undergone restructuring to combine the very best skills and production capabilities necessary to develop a truly world class manufacturing facility, reports Joseph Rhodes. Commercial systems have been implemented to meet the price, delivery and quality demands of the clayworking industry and important customer-supplier relationships are being established.
The move has clearly benefitted Craven Fawcett, providing the company with its own pattern shop, machine shop and fitting departments necessary to ensure total control over all production operations. Furthermore, Craven Fawcett has wasted no time in using the R&D capabilities of the new parent company. A new material is currently being developed for the manufacture of worm sections (used in extrusion machines) and other high wear components. Preliminary trials are said to have proved very promising, showing a massive reduction in wear and resulting in a corresponding increase in production and reduced machine downtime.
In addition, a new 'hydraulic overload system' has been designed for the CF 1200/1000 Mark 1 Rolls. Based on the highly successful and patented Rhodes press overload device, the new system is designed to automatically detect any foreign material (e.g. iron ore, steel etc.) and shut down before any damage occurs. The material is then extracted, allowing the machine to reset automatically in less than five minutes.
This new system is said to be a massive improvement over the conventional mechanical method, whereby foreign material can often cause the machine to break down six to eight times per shift, taking 20-25 minutes each time to reset - i.e. between two and three hours downtime in each shift. A set of Breaker Cups is also damaged in the process, often totalling an annual cost of over £14,000 based on the throughput of the trial machines. Currently undergoing production trials at the Wakefield site, the new system is creating a substantial increase in productivity, reduced downtime and reduced replacement parts.
ENDS