How Membrane Pressing Drives Success for a Fast-growing Door Manufacturer
Salt Lake City, UT — Since plunging into membrane pressing in 1998, Sun Mountain Doors has recorded a ten-fold sales increase, expanded sales into the Western U.S. and Canada, and quadrupled its plant size to 25,000 sq ft. "We started in 1996 as a one-man shop with one CNC router and a vacuum press," explains Steve Soelberg, CEO of Sun Mountain. "Two years later, to meet the demands of our customers and increase quality, we bought our first membrane press — a Shaw Almex Thermolaminator. That first year, we experienced 300% sales growth; the following year, 150%." According to Soelberg, Sun Mountain's thermofoil supplier was instrumental in breaking into membrane pressing. "American Renolit was a key player when we bought our first membrane press," explains Soelberg. "Its staff helped us set up the machine and provided training that allowed us to get up to full production very quickly." Sun Mountain's formula for success is simple: give the customer what it needs. "We are committed to keeping up with the latest manufacturing technologies and staying on top of design trends within the industry," says Soelberg. "And with the help of Renolit's stocking program and our own internal manufacturing processes we are able to deliver short lead times without sacrificing quality."
JIT Manufacturing and Customer Satisfaction Depend on Speed of Film Deliveries
With its Shaw press installed and operating, Sun Mountain was able to target larger cabinet and closet manufacturers in the Salt Lake City area. "Local companies, many of which were buying doors from a competitor out of the Midwest, were happy to have a local source for doors membrane pressed with Renolit film," says Soelberg. Sun Mountain offers Renolit's S-Coat films for residential applications in a variety of finishes, including solid colors, woodgrains, and metallics, and matching scratch- and mar-resistant V-Coat film for horizontal components of commercial furniture components — a new and growing segment of the company's business. "Using Renolit film we can reproduce sharp details on our components," Soelberg adds. "We're able to form very tight interior profiles." Renolit film can conform to virtually any three-dimensional shape routed into MDF substrates, from compound curves and intricate profiles to rounded corners and deep recesses, and do so with no visible seams, simulating components machined from solid wood, solid stone or solid surfacing with convincing realism. "New customers are attracted by our short lead times," adds Soelberg. "Our ability to provide them with quick deliveries allows our customers to order smaller quantities and make shorter runs, cutting their inventory costs dramatically. In fact, many of our customers were able to cut their inventories by half. One customer that had been maintaining a 0,000 inventory now keeps a zero inventory."
High-tech Membrane Pressing Cuts Lead Times
Flexibility in its machinery, increasingly shorter machine set up times, and short run capabilities are critical to JIT capabilities. Today, the company operates four CNC routers and two Wemhoener presses. Sun Mountain has improved its production efficiencies by developing custom software that interfaces with the nesting software that optimizes the number of parts run through each router. "Sizes, styles, and quantities can be mixed together," explains Soelberg, "which allows us to increase our sheet utilization; sometimes as high as 94%." The company also benefits from automation of its membrane presses. "Our Wemhoener presses include a turnover device that picks up an entire tray of pressed doors and allows a part to be finished trimmed without having to be rough cut first," Soelberg explains. "A vacuum holds the tray of parts as the machine flips it over so that the excess foil can be trimmed." "We can also mix components on the Wemhoener press because of the pin system that supports the parts," he adds. "The presses have scanners that read where the parts are located and automatically lift the pins under the parts, eliminating the need for manually-handled riser boards." During membrane pressing, routed substrates are coated with adhesive and placed in a membrane-press tray — with the rigid thermofoil pulled across the tray — then slid into a chamber that heats the film and creates a vacuum and then inserts positive pressure on top of a silicone membrane. The membrane and film then form to all top and side surfaces of the substrate. Formability of the film enables it to reproduce virtually any three-dimensional shape including sweeping curves, fine details and undercut edges, while maintaining uniform wall thickness with minimal thin-out. "The Wemhoener press is equipped with a shuttle that automatically pulls the film over the substrate," explains Soelberg. "An operator places the specified film into the shuttle rack and it is automatically pulled onto the press when the tray moves into position. We use a four-station rack, into which two other racks feed, allowing us to automatically feed 12 rolls of film." "The fast setup of our membrane presses and the availability of the Renolit film has allowed us to cut lead times from three weeks to five days, as well as offer an increased variety of color options," says Soelberg, "and that has a great payoff for our customers." Sun Mountain Doors
248 Mountain Way
Orem, UT 84058
801-434-8863
ssoelberg@sunmountaindoors.com
www.sunmountaindoors.com Stiles Machinery
3965 44th St. S.E.
Grand Rapids, MI 49512
616-698-7500
www.stilesmachinery.com |
