Lockwood Revolutionises Building Houses

MEDIA RELEASE
12 June 2009

Embargoed until 05:00am, 12 June, 2009

Lockwood Revolutionises Building Houses

Iconic New Zealand building manufacturers Lockwood will soon be building homes faster with a state-of-the-art timber processing machine.

The machine has been designed by Aspen Design Limited to automate the creation of wooden components for Lockwood homes. It is part of a $6.5 million upgrade to the company’s facilities in Rotorua which include new offices, improved show homes and show village and an overhaul of the yard and factory site layout which sees all production moved under one roof.

Bryce Heard, Lockwood chief executive, said the new machine will ensure Lockwood remains internationally competitive and is well positioned to take advantage of future growth opportunities both here in New Zealand and overseas.

“During these challenging economic times we are constantly looking for ways to be more efficient and the introduction of this new machine will significantly reduce costs, increase productivity and accuracy as well as improve safety. This type of machine isn’t new, however it’s a first for the New Zealand building industry.
“Through this whole process we have been very fortunate to receive significant financial support from TechNZ, the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology’s business investment programme. They had the vision to see what this type of machine will mean for the industry and we are delighted we can repay their commitment to the project through the successful development of the machine,” said Heard.
The two million dollar machine, tentatively called the ‘Apollo Mark III’, has been two and a half years in the making. Lockwood searched overseas for an automated machine before discovering Aspen Design here in New Zealand.

“Stephen McIvor and his team at Aspen had already built several Computer controlled Timber cutting machines but never on this scale. We were impressed with their can-do attitude and determination to get it done and we haven’t been disappointed. They have produced a state-of-the-art machine as good as anything you could get overseas,” said Heard

The machine works with a Computer Aided Drawing system developed locally. The software produces a drawing of the structure, automatically logs the location of any defects in the timber and programmes where the planks need to be cut. This data is sent to the machine which cuts the planks to size, straightens any bends and labels them, guaranteeing the precision required for Lockwood components.

The original concept has been modified throughout its development to ensure the objectives were met. In particular, the timber transport system has been altered and a more complex and expensive gripper handling system adopted.

It’s the machine’s world class technology which ensures accuracy and high productivity. The gripper system with supporting software can work on two pieces of timber at the same time and built in ejectors can remove the finished timber quickly. The gripper system also means very short pieces of timber can be handled. The saw heads have been designed for maximum versatility and can move through a 90 degree angle while most machines can only rotate 45 degrees meaning it can work on all sides of the timber. While the old process placed restrictions on what operations could be done to a piece of timber, the new machine offers great potential for improvements in the Lockwood Product.

Stephen McIvor, director and designer Aspen Design, said while he is thrilled with the opportunity to design and build the machine for Lockwood, the project hasn’t been all smooth sailing. A difficult labour market at the start of the project made it hard to get good and adequate staff for the design work and the worsening economy has seen unexpected exchange rate fluctuations affect the cost of imported components.

“The most frustrating thing about the whole process has been the sheer size of the project and the pressure which has come with it. This machine is five times bigger than what we would call a normal project. I’m working six days a week, have re-orientated my lifestyle around getting finished, but still have trouble meeting time contraints” said McIvor.

The hard work will soon pay off when the new machine is unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Bill English along with the rest of Lockwood’s upgraded facilities on June 12 in Rotorua.

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