The challenges for us here at David Bailey Furniture Systems were not a reduction in orders or a standstill during the lockdowns of the pandemic. Working in healthcare, our hands were fuller than ever, and our orders were coming in thick and fast. What’s more, we manufacture our furniture here in the UK, and we work with local suppliers to boot. We made it out relatively unscathed from Brexit’s transport and logistics issues, and COVID had us working overtime.
We were lucky. The challenges we face do not have to do with a reduction in work. Our challenges are rising material costs, higher expenditure, extra demand and finding a balance to stay competitive, deliver to the standard we have set for our clients and avoid raising our prices in reaction to the market.
The solution we have found? Reinvesting back into our technology. Boosting our capacity and setting an even higher benchmark for the future.
New machinery handling our increasing demand
As our order volumes increase, we have needed more throughput in the factory. Our solution to this problem is new equipment. With our new purchases, we can increase our warehouse capabilities, with extra room to continue our growth well into the future.
HOMAG B300 Beam Saw
Replacing our old beam saw machine is a HOMAG beam saw. This piece of innovative machinery works out the best way of cutting the board for the furniture required, so the operator doesn’t have to. The benefit is that the process is more efficient, and there is less wastage. We get better output, lower environmental impact and the best possible results for our clients.
HOMAG Drillteq V-500 Dowel Insertion Drill
Replacing our previous machine, our new vertical CNC drill comes with a dowelling hopper that drills holes and automatically inserts the dowels into the furniture. Dowels are an important element of DBFS furniture. Dowels make the furniture strong and longer-lasting. Automating the process will allow us to speed up our output without compromising on strength and durability.
HOMAG Cabteq S250 Carcass Press
The carcass press itself is not an overly exciting piece of equipment, but it is essential to make furniture more accurately, and the HOMAG carcass press is the best on the market.
With the HOMAG software for this machinery, some can be programmed from the office, giving us more flexibility, more time and less wastage.
Here’s what our Operations Manager has to say about the new purchases:
“Our current market environment is constantly challenging us. The global pandemic combined with Brexit impacted our business greatly. Raw material prices increased, our expenditure increased, and our supply chain demanded more from us. All the while, our customers continued to expect cost-effective furniture in a competitive market. This was quite a challenge, but we believe we’ve found a solution.
“In spite of all the market had to throw at us, we finished 2021 achieving our commercial goals, giving us an opportunity to reinvest some of those earnings back into the infrastructure here at David Bailey Furniture Systems. We’re pleased to announce the purchase of three new HOMAG CNC machines: a vertical drill, carcass press, and a beam saw, which are all due to arrive in the summer. We have also invested in HOMAG’S optimisation software to help streamline production.
“David Bailey has always been at the forefront with technology, tools, and systems. Reinvesting into this new cutting-edge technology allows us to be more dynamic and efficient, making us more competitive without drastically increasing our prices.
“With our existing success and the addition of equipment that can optimise our efforts, I believe our 2022 will be even more exciting and an opportunity to set a benchmark for future accomplishments!” Tony Huggins, Operations Manager, David Bailey Furniture Systems.
Investing in new machinery – find out more
David Bailey Furniture Systems has been producing healthcare furniture since it began some 30 years ago. We are proud of the furniture we produce and the nimble way we are able to work, thanks to our efficient in-house staff.
Visit our website to read case studies of healthcare facilities using our furniture or get in touch with us to discuss your healthcare furniture needs.