The Georgian Bar Company will be taking Jade’s Astragal bar miller to the US for the opening of its new division in California, the latest in a long list of endorsements for the milling machine.
The company has been working with Jade for several years, promoting the milling machine directly to its customer network. It recognised the value the machines brought to installers on site not just in terms of reducing the time spent on milling the bars to length, but also ensuring the cuts were precise and gave a quality finish in line with Georgian Bar Co’s own exacting standards.
Launching it to its US customers from the outset was key to continuing the adherence to a quality product in a market which still offers massive potential.
“We had to reverse engineer the existing UK design to better suit the US style window which tends to have more shallow rebates. But the finished miller still offers the same portability, flexibility of use and standard of finish that we have grown accustomed to over the years,” said The Georgian Bar Co’s managing director, Phil Dewhurst.
Over the years, The Georgian Bar Co has collaborated closely with Jade in evolving the design of the Astragal miller, including the option to use different sized bars on one machine with the addition of moveable inserts. And while the size and transportable nature of the miller makes it ideal for use on site, Phil also recommends its use in a factory setting as well.
“It allows you to bar up quickly as you don’t need to wait for the air compression cycle to reset,” added Phil. “It is the perfect low cost, manually operated addition to the end of any fabrication processing line. It takes up no room at all, a quick cut and clip, and you’re ready to load the finished product to be fitted on site.”
This is not the first time one of Jade’s millers has been found on overseas soil thanks to the far-reaching success of the Geofast system. The Georgian Bar Co has also shipped out a total of five millers to its partner in India.
“When you have a unique product like Geofast, any proven supporting equipment like Jade’s Astragal miller are included as part of the package – and that has already proven to be the case in India,” continued Phil. “In the UK we’ve probably supplied 60 or more millers. We supply them direct to our customers, including sorting out any repair or maintenance issues, so there is always that one point of contact between us and Jade which massively simplifies the relationship. This partnership continued in India and will be the same in California. Quite simply, it works!”
Jade director Adam Jones agrees:
“Working with Phil and his team at The Georgian Bar Co has been instrumental in the evolution of the engineering behind the Astragal bar miller. The feedback and input from both installers on site, and fabricators operating the machine on the factory floor has allowed us to develop a machine which performs the simplest of tasks perfectly, all wrapped up in one small, low cost package – a true example of a problem, solved.”
Weighing in at just 15kg and no larger than the size of a work site radio, the Jade Astragal Bar Miller can be stored in the back of a van and taken on-site from job to job, giving installers an immediate and effective method of completing what can often be a time consuming and fiddly install process.
