A seamless future

Following astonishing levels of interest and confirmed sales at the FIT Show, Dave Thomas, CEO at Haffner, considers the game-changing difference seamless welding delivers.

Every so often, there’s an innovation in the industry that takes a quantum leap forward. All the signs are that seamless welding technology might be one of those innovations.

I say this because we’re just back from the FIT Show where we showcased the world’s first fully welded seamless window fabrication thanks to Graf Synergy technology.

The response was astonishing.

Every two hours, we showcased the fabrication of the first fully seamless window, complete with transoms and mullions, as well as cruciforms and reverse butt welding and the standard quad and cill welding operations. It’s a process that’s achievable only with Graf Synergy seamless weld technology.

I said before the show that this machine technology had to be seen to be believed and I was right. We had a crowd of fabricators and installers watching throughout the three days of the busy show and every person could see the transformational difference in weld quality the technology delivers.

Our exclusive supply partnership with Graf Synergy allowed us to demonstrate the world’s first fully seamless setup on display and supports the demand for high-quality fabrication. The demonstrations were carried out by leading trade supplier, Dekko Window Systems, who recently signed a multi-million-pound machinery deal with Haffner to invest in this seamless technology.

Dekko’s sales director, Kurt Greatrex, said: “Following the success of our Infinity range of PVC-U windows, we’ve improved our offering to manufacture a window with a fully seamless weld. It’s a world first from Dekko, and we would not have been able to make it happen without the Graf Synergy machines from Haffner.

“The innovative smooth corner weld design of this new window is stylish and attractive, perfectly replicating authentic timber frames, and the perfect choice for adding charm and character to any property.”

I’ve always said that automation enhances quality, accuracy and speeds up fabrication and that’s never been truer than with the Graf Synergy range. The range offers solutions for fabricators of all sizes too. The machines are suitable for fabricators manufacturing feature-rich products and they can be used to weld profiles with any kind of film or foil so there are no limitations on their use. They are equally appropriate for high volume casement output because they deliver high levels of automation throughout the entire fabrication process, speeding up production and turbo-charging efficiency.

My own sense is that, right now, this technology delivers a serious competitive advantage for anyone fabricating or installing feature-rich products such as flush casements or sash windows. However, I also think that as the technology becomes more widespread, it could become the only game in town. Fabricators and installers that don’t use it will put themselves at a disadvantage.

Alongside the Graf Synergy technology on display at FIT, our stand also featured machinery across the Haffner range, which provides innovative and high-quality engineered products at competitive industry prices, and FOM Industries, which offers aluminium fabrication machines that combine the latest technology with skilled engineering.

We were also able to talk to customers old and new and to showcase the Haffner difference. Haffner is home to industry and technical experts who really understand the fabrication industry and are truly committed to adding value to your business. We do this through our belief in honest consultancy that puts long term benefit over short term profit – we’ll recommend the machinery that’s best for your business not best for our bottom line. And when it comes to recommending machinery, we benefit from having the largest and most comprehensive machine portfolio in the industry to select from.

We’ve always prided ourselves on our proactive approach and our aim is to always make sure we are offering the cutting edge in the industry so we can give our customers a competitive advantage. If the reaction at FIT is anything to go by, in bringing Graf Synergy technology to the market thanks to our exclusive supply agreement, it seems we’ve done it again.