Ahmarra Installs Press Line at New Fire Door Production Facility
Ahmarra have invested in an automatic Italpresse through-feed press line for our new purpose-built fire door production facility in Havant, Hampshire. This advancement in press line manufacturing technology enables us to apply high quality veneers and laminate facings to our certified fire doorsets with further improved consistency and efficiency.
Door facings consist of a thin decorative outer layer that is applied to the door core. Ahmarra select only the finest FSC® certified door facings, typically a timber veneer or high-pressure laminate depending on the project or design requirements.
Our new press line speeds up the glue setting process, by applying heat and pressure to the door core. This is done through heating oil in the machine’s tank and feeding the door core through the large metal plates which compress it. The press process creates a strong, set bond between the door core and the facing. Italpresse’s flexible press line can be configured to suit the type of core and its automatic through-feed functionality will enable our skilled craftsmen to increase production and reduce lead time.
Question & Answer
with Tim Doran, Ahmarra’s Managing Director
Why invest in a new press line?
We had been considering replacing our existing through-feed line for a while, at it was nearly as old as me – built in 1970. And, like me, it still worked but probably not quite as well as a more modern version.
I had been struggling with the cost of a new press line, as although the new presses may have more bells and whistles, they still use the same basic technology as the old ones. And from experience, they often do not result in a better quality product and there are more elements that can potentially go wrong.
What made you choose the Italpresse Mark/C Press?
We started considering our options again at the start of the pandemic and decided on a new Italpresse Mark/C Press due to its flexible control system and because it can accommodate doors of up to 3300mm long and 1400mm wide. The press’s system enables the operator to set the thickness and laminating pressure, and reads the surface area and position of the parts entering the press to determine how much hydraulic pressure to feed to each cylinder. This is particularly important when panels vary in size, which ours often do.
Are there any additional benefits?
We also invested in Italpresse’s high gloss package. The package includes heavy-duty brushes for cleaning the special anti-static belts, which is essential for when you are bonding high pressure laminates, as these can easily pick up any contaminants on the belt. This can be particularly noticeable on doors with high gloss laminate and dark colour finishes.
Our skilled veneer press operators should find the new line much easier to operate once they’ve had time to get used to it. The days of making manual adjustments to the press should be over.
Will this improve Ahmarra’s manufacturing output?
The capacity of this press line is 120 to 150 doors a day, which exceeds our current requirements, but fits in with our expansion plans. However, Ahmarra’s focus is not on volume – the key factors in a press line for us are reliability and the quality of the product it produces.
Ahmarra is continually striving to reduce lead times for our customers. With this new line and the three new five-axis CNC routers we have invested in, we will reduce the overall manufacturing time over the coming months.
What are your future plans for Ahmarra?
Ahmarra have been manufacturing performance timber fire doors in Portsmouth for almost 30 years, but growing demand for bespoke doors meant that in 2012 we started to consider the possibility of relocating. We found a brownfield site not far from our current location.
Fast forward to March 2019, after five years of negotiating to buy the land and another year seeking planning permission, construction on our purpose-built facility began.
Over 5 million pounds has been invested in Ahmarra’s new facility and its machinery so far, with the objective of producing engineered fire doorsets in an increasingly more efficient, consistent and environmentally friendly way.
Ahmarra have now moved to the new premises in Havant. The machinery has been installed and is fully operational, and the last of the offices are currently being fitted-out.
To learn more about Ahmarra’s new fire door production facility, click here.
