Steve Buck, of Marble Ideas in Uxbridge, part exchanged his three MarmoMeccanica edge polishers for three new ones just before heading off to Marmomacc in Verona (24-27 September) to choose his first ever CNC workcentre.
He bought his three existing LCV711s in 2009, 2012 and 2013, selecting the vertical model because it takes up less space in his 1,000m2 factory and yard. “They’re a fantastic machine,” says Steve. “We’ve had MarmoMeccanicas for 17 years and we’ve never had any problems with them – and we use them every day, six days a week most of the time.”
He had not been thinking about replacing them but says Andy Bell of National Masonry, which has the agency for MarmoMeccanica in the UK, offered him such a good trade in deal for his three existing LCVs he could not say no.
Marble Ideas typically produces 30-40 kitchens a week, sometimes as many as 50, mostly for the London contract market. Working alongside the edge polishers is a Kolb saw with an inverter and two Thibaut 108s. But until now the company has not had a CNC workcentre because Steve Buck believes the 30 people he employs produce better results and he has built the company’s reputation on the quality of its work. However, with Dekton and Lapitec sintered stone starting to be selected for projects he believes he has to have a CNC workcentre, especially with the workload now rapidly increasing again.