With the launch of Kombimatec’s PBM60, profile bending is changing from a specialist craft into a more accessible, engineered manufacturing process – opening up new possibilities for fabricators.

Despite advances across fabrication, producing high-quality curved PVC-U frames has remained dependent on technical manual skills and years of experience.

It has often been described as an art as much as a manufacturing process.

That reliance on niche expertise has shaped the market. Many fabricators have traditionally chosen to outsource curved window production, not because it was necessarily the most profitable option, but because recruiting and retaining experienced profile bending specialists proved difficult.

Until now. With the arrival of its new PBM60 automated profile bending machine, Kombimatec is signalling a turning point for curved window production and for the way fabricators think about specialist manufacturing.

“For years, profile bending has been one of those processes that everyone accepted would always depend on skilled personnel,” says David Parsons, managing director of Kombimatec. “We questioned that. Can you achieve the same quality and craftsmanship while making the process far more repeatable and accessible? The answer is emphatically yes – it’s exactly what the PBM60 has been designed to do.”

The hydraulically actuated three-roll machine uses electronic controls to apply precise, incremental bends to PVC-U and metal profiles, producing accurate, repeatable curves with minimal operator intervention. What has traditionally required two highly experienced operatives working together to handle and shape the material can now be carried out consistently by a single trained machine operator and without the risk of human error.

“The first thing people notice is the consistency,” David says. “And that you’re no longer relying on years of skill and experience to achieve a result. Instead, operators can be up and running straight away with full training. Fabricators quickly realise they can produce high-quality curved profiles time after time with complete confidence.”

Expertise engineered-in
Importantly though, David is keen to stress, this isn’t about replacing craftsmanship.

“People sometimes mistakenly assume automation means removing skill from the process, but that’s not how we see it at all,” he says. “It’s about taking the knowledge that experienced operators have built up over many years and engineering that expertise into the process itself.

“The craftsmanship is still reflected in the finished product. The difference is that the knowledge once held by a handful of experienced operators is now embedded within a controlled, repeatable manufacturing process. And that’s helping businesses produce premium products without depending on a shrinking pool of specialist labour.”

Rethinking outsourcing
This evolution also changes the conversation around outsourcing. For many years, specialist bending companies have provided an invaluable service to the industry, allowing fabricators to offer curved products without investing in dedicated skills or equipment. For manufacturers producing only occasional arched windows, outsourcing has often been the right commercial decision. But as automation changes the production process, the calculation is beginning to shift.

“We’re not suggesting outsourcing suddenly becomes the wrong choice,” David says. “For some businesses, particularly those producing relatively small volumes of curved products, it will continue to make perfect sense. But for others, the balance is changing. If you’re regularly outsourcing curved work, it’s worth asking whether bringing that capability in-house could give you greater flexibility, faster turnaround and better control over quality, scheduling and customer service.

“Ultimately, rather than relying on external suppliers, you now have the opportunity to retain more of the manufacturing process – and more of its associated value – within your own business.”

For fabricators already producing curved products, automation offers improved efficiency and consistency. While for those who have previously avoided the sector altogether, it removes one of the biggest barriers to entry by reducing dependence on increasingly scarce specialist skills.

“Ultimately, it’s about giving fabricators more options,” David concludes. “Some will use the PBM60 to improve efficiency in an established part of their business. Others will see it as an opportunity to diversify and enter a premium market they’ve never been able to access before, one that offers real value. Either way, it removes barriers that have existed in profile bending for decades.

“Profile bending has always been one of the most specialised areas of window manufacture and will always demand high standards. What’s changing is that those standards are becoming achievable by far more fabricators. That’s a significant shift for the industry, and I believe it’s the start of a very different chapter for profile bending.”