Going through the roof

Bedford Glassworks has taken delivery of a Bimatech Technorev 3000 CNC shape edging machine from Bottero UK Ltd. The Leigh, Lancashire based glass shop is the processing department of St George Glass, based in Bolton and established for over 50 years.

The new machine has a three metre by 1.5m bed size and performs shape edging and routing operations, plus brilliant cutting on a fourth axis. Now operational, the Technorev extends the range of processes offered by this small but well-equipped glass shop.

‘The machine is unusual in that it can do brilliant cutting’, says Steve Bennetts, Managing Director of the group of businesses. The production of glass shelving is an important application of this operation. ‘I think that this process will be demanded more in the next two years because some large processors have closed down due to competition from Chinese imports’, says Steve. ‘In contrast, we are catering for the bespoke market – commercial buildings as well as some domestic.’

Bedford Glassworks already has several Bottero machines, but the new arrival is the biggest piece of equipment to date. In fact, a dome had to be put on the factory’s roof to facilitate delivery. ‘It shows that even a small company like ours can take delivery of a big machine’, adds Steve Bennetts.

History

St George Glass has been established for over 50 years. Bedford Glassworks is the branch in Leigh, Lancashire. All edgework, polishing and drilling is done at this branch using advanced machinery and processes. St George Glass is the branch in Bolton, Greater Manchester. This is a sealed unit manufacturer, also supplying express emergency units and high security glass/polycarbonate units. There are 22 employees spread over the two sites.

‘We’re going from strength to strength as a family business’, continues Steve. ‘Imports continue to have an impact on processing but we are finding a market by catering for the higher end user that wants something different’.