Office furniture manufacturer Verco mobilized its fleet of Biesse wood processing machines to produce 5,500 Covid-safe desks for the British government in four months.

When office furniture designer and manufacturer Verco received one of its largest orders ever-a special desk project for the British government-it knew that it could only rely on the performance of its Biesse machines to deliver on time. 

Biesse meets the challenge by providing responsive engineering support and fast online troubleshooting to meet Verco's ambitious uptime goals. In order to fulfill strict contract terms and satisfy customers, 5,500 MFC desk positions with Covid-protected MFC/plexiglass and glass shielding were delivered by the end of March.

Biesse's Selco SK4 is in place at Verco

A seat in the capital

Verco has a rich furniture manufacturing tradition that can be traced back more than a century, when High Wycombe was known as the chair manufacturing capital of the world. In the 1960s, the company's focus shifted to office furniture, mainly seats. Recent history has witnessed Verco investing in Biesse's CNC machines to develop its panel furniture business.

The first Biesse machine purchased by Verco was two second-hand machines: a Protec (manufactured in 1999) for processing large panels and a smaller Rover 380 (manufactured in 1992). Verco is still using these two products to this day-this proves the longevity and manufacturing quality of Biesse machines. 

"This is our first introduction to Biesse, so when we plan to buy a new machine later, we call them to talk. Compared with other brands, Biesse's machines are more competitive in terms of technology and price," Said Peter Mitchell, Verco's production director. 

These early models were later added to several other Biesse machines, including the VIET sander, Selco beam saw, Rover A Edge CNC and the newly purchased Rover A FT flatbed milling machine.

This furniture manufacturing facility is located in Verco's 40,000 square foot wood factory, coupled with a skilled and dedicated workforce, making Verco a leader in high-quality commercial desk and dining table products. 

Verco's latest purchase-Rover A FT Flat Panel Router

In the summer of 2020, we contacted Verco to design and manufacture 5,500 workstations, including more than 25,000 MFC panels and 13,000 plexiglass panels, to create a Covid safe working environment. 

As one of the largest contracts in Verco's 109-year history, this project involves many. Even before awarding the contract, Verco must ensure the security of its supply chain, promise materials and make logistical arrangements, load 1,000 tons of desks into the static racks of special desk units, and transport them to the central distribution warehouse.

The size of the order means that Verco must go all out to ensure that the desk is delivered on time. This will require extended shifts within the contract period and changed to six days a week. Even so, any machine downtime will jeopardize Verco's ability to complete the work on time.

"We are very aware of the scale of this project, and we hardly have time to make all the components," Peter explained. "The complexity of these components exacerbates this challenge. Some of them require secondary processing in terms of size, edge, molding, routing and shape edges, which is difficult but must always be absolutely accurate. We know we will have to rely heavily on The repeatability and reliability of the machine, because we simply do not have enough time to complete any downtime work."

He continued: “The two machines that are critical to the success of the project are the Rover A Edge machines, because we cannot perform profiled edge banding with the same accuracy, repeatability and quality on any other machine, especially in terms of quantity. Necessary. Therefore, ensuring the uptime of these machines is of utmost importance."

With this in mind, before signing the contract, Verco sought assurance from Biesse that it would respond quickly if there were any equipment problems. 

"We want to make sure they can guarantee support on our website when we need it, and provide remote support when we need it," Peter said.

As the customer was satisfied with the prototype designed by Verco, all systems started in mid-November. Since then, there have only been a few breaks during Christmas, and for the next 11 weeks, 6 45-foot polar bears will leave Verco every week. 

All hands to the deck

"Employees in all areas of the business were seconded to work on this project. Everyone was involved in the fact that it needed to be completed. They were all in full employment at the time, which made them happy, and the factory employees worked very long hours— — 6 am to 6 pm — and a lot of overtime,” Peter said.

During this period, several Biesse machines were operating normally, including some of the oldest machines. 

"Even the big old Protec has its effect," Peter recalled. “Some of the panels we deal with are 1800 x 2100 mm in size, so Protec is ideal for precision edge sawing. We can do some shaping and trimming on Rovers, and then transfer to Protec for sawing, which is a kind of A more effective way of working."

Opera 7 Broadband Finishing Center Provides Verco with Excellent Finishing Quality

In this project, Biesse's remote troubleshooting capabilities played a vital role in minimizing downtime.

"The benefit of an engineer remotely identifying a problem on a machine and correcting it remotely is speed. It is better for everyone if the problem can be solved without visiting the site," Peter said. 

The latest machine purchased by Verco integrates SOPHIA-Biesse's IoT platform. Through continuous connection with the platform, this provides Biesse with a "window" into each installation machine. Users can seek help through the app, and Biesse's engineers will diagnose and solve the problem remotely.

"SOPHIA has played a big role in being able to identify the problem," Peter points out.

According to Peter, during the project, any problems that could not be solved remotely were effectively handled by Biesse's engineers on site. He praised Biesse's response as "positive" and the engineer's attendance was "punctual and effective."

By the end of March, all four stages of this ambitious plan had been delivered on time, and the product had passed strict government procedures. 

"Customers are very satisfied with our performance. This is a huge boost for our employees. They are fully committed to one of the largest single orders in Verco's history. Biesse's support is the key to keeping production on time. Their Engineers should be praised," Peter said. 

'The benefit of engineers remotely identifying problems on machines and correcting them remotely is speed. It’s better for everyone if you can sort the questions without visiting the site.”

Furniture Production is a leading publication in the furniture industry, featuring the latest furniture production projects.

Access the e-magazine, sign up for the newsletter

Read the article only for registered users

Registered magazine, print or digital version

Edit submission. Publish your work

Advertise with us, print or digital

Media pack, download media pack

Sign up for a free listing!

Upgrade your profile and add photos, videos, maps, social media links, PDF uploads and contacts

Designers and manufacturers: Publish your products to reach retailers around the world. Retailer? Sign up for the newsletter with the latest news, features, and products.

© 2013-2021 Media 66 Ltd / Gearing Media Group Ltd / www.furnitureproduction.net / Furniture & Joinery Production / All rights reserved