Lakeland Timber Frame Double Productivity with Two Elcon Vertical Panel Saws

Lakeland Timber Frame Double Productivity with Two Elcon Vertical Panel Saws

Having celebrated their 20th birthday in June 2020, Lakeland Timber Frame have grown year on year since Keith Cordukes, Director, and his cousin started up the business. Offering a high-quality service with a personal family touch has stayed at the heart of the company, and when Keith was looking for a new vertical panel saw, he looked no further than family run machinery specialists, Daltons Wadkin. Now proud owners of two Elcon panel saws, Keith spoke with us about timber frame production, company values, and his experience with Elcon.

“We’ve grown massively over the last five years but we still try and keep that personal touch with people, if there’s any issues on site we’ll always go back and sort that issue and not leave it hanging about” – Keith Cordukes

elcon vertical panel saw

Their previous panel saw was becoming old and was taking up workshop space, “we used to use a table saw which took up so much room, so the vertical panel saw was a big space saver”, Keith explained that after 15 years it was time for an upgrade. After working with vertical panel saws at his previous employer, he researched the market and found machinery specialists Daltons Wadkin, who were able to offer an Elcon 155DS with pneumatic back frame. As demand across the timber frame industry continued to increase, Keith and his family wanted to enhance their production efficiency, which resulted in a second Elcon vertical panel saw from Daltons Wadkin.

 

“The introduction of a second Elcon saw was to increase production, and if there were any issues with breakdowns, we would have a backup. We’re not doubling output, but we have increased productivity, which is one of the main reasons we wanted to double up on things” – Keith Cordukes.

elcon vertical panel saw

The UK has seen a rise in off-site timber frame manufacture for buildings – it is sustainable, cost effective, and practical in terms of design flexibility and time efficiency. “Production wise for the actual units we do, we’re probably doing between 50-60 houses per year which is in the region of £2-2.5 million”, Keith went on to explain the flexibility of the application. Lakeland Timber Frame work with plywood and OSB to produce frames for hotels, log cabins, housing, and more, “anything that can be made in timber frame, we will produce”.

 

“We’ve had the second Elcon about two years now. We’d used Elcon before that and were really pleased with the product itself, so we didn’t really look anywhere else when we came to buy the new one” – Keith Cordukes

Customer service for Lakeland is very important, with most of the family working at their site it was clear to see the benefits which emanate from a family run business. Daltons Wadkin left their old machine in place until the new one was installed. Mirroring the family touch, Keith explains that the support during and since the installation ‘has been great’.

“Elcon panel saws have lived up to our expectations, with having vertical panel saws previously you wonder if the product you’re going to get with a new one will be the same quality, but our expectations have been lived up to and the Elcon does its job great” – Keith Cordukes

“Yes, I would recommend an Elcon vertical panel saw from Daltons Wadkin. Customer service has been great, we deal with other companies for machinery and we certainly don’t get that level of service from them”, Keith Cordukes enthused. The value in continued customer support, discussing requirements, and finding the perfect solution has paid dividends for Lakeland Timber Frame, and we look forward to supporting them through the next 20 years and beyond.

For more information on the Elcon range of vertical panel saws, contact Daltons Wadkin on 0115 824 4855, visit www.daltonswadkin.com or email info@daltonswadkin.com

Elcon Vertical Panel Saws