The first Thibaut T812 workcentre in the UK has been installed at Landford Stone in Salisbury, who were also the first company to buy the bigger T818 in the UK three-and-a-half years ago. The new 812 is pictured above in their workshop with operators David Hall (left) and Andy Knight. It will be used to make granite, marble and quartz worktops

Landford Director Chris Stott says they chose the 812 because it speaks the same software language as the 818 and uses the same tools but has a slightly smaller footprint. As Chris says: "We have a finite amount of production space." He says the performance and back-up of the 818 had been excellent and he did not seriously consider other machines before choosing the 812. "The self-contained, full width steps up to the machine are a real winner for us," says Chris.

He also praised the quietness of the machine. "We have noise surveys carried out and we know the 812 is not going to have any significant bearing on that, with its granite work surface and generally chunky construction."

The 812 is smaller and lighter than the 818 and value engineering has been carried out to keep the cost down but, says Chris, "there\'s no compromise on quality."