Machinery

The O'Brien Group has invested millions of dollars in machinery in its main factory. The unique mix and blend of machinery allows the O'Brien Group to not only be the market leader in terms of fabrication efficiencies, but also to be incredibly flexible. The Company can manufacture the smallest jobs through to the large jobs, no matter how complicated the job may be. The O'Brien Group has been a pioneer in the adoption of new technology for fabrication purposes, often being the first to purchase new technology out of Europe. The company soon developed a name for itself for applying the technology to undertake tasks which the designers and manufacturers of the machines had not imagined the machines could do. This has lead to the point where the O'Brien Group now plan a key role in the design of new machines to their specifications.

Their ongoing commitment to investment in new technology keeps the O'Brien Group at the forefront of their industry. With two new Bima machines commissioned in January 2005, this brings the total number of Bima machines the company has to five. The capabilities of these machines are summarised as follows:

Bima Post former

Temperature controlled with automatic changing profile heads (both bar code read), this machine is fully automatic (computerised) and the only one of its type in the world. The machine not only rolls laminates, but also follows profiled boards. The machine will also insert a glue seal on the underside of the top to prevent de-lamination and seal the laminate to board.

Bima Cut

Fully computerised automatic cutting machine which can undertake any cut operation required. The machine is capable of 2 dimensional figurative shapes with profile capabilities as well, enabling the O'Brien Group to offer the widest range of profiles in Australasia.

Bima Standard Models

The Obrien Group have three of these machines, two based at the Mosgiel production facility and one based in Auckland. These versatile machines provide a wide range of pre-programmed functions including running joins, bolt holes, "trim to length" of finished product, trimming edges, and trimming bowl cut outs. The machines have an automatic feed in and out and are the most flexible machines available on the market. These machines are capable of processing both high and low volume jobs, and can manage a variety of materials including timbers, manufactured boards and plastics.

Whilst the Bima's are the key machines in the the O'Brien Group's factory, they also have a number of other specialist machines to complement the Bima's. These include in-line presses with automatic feed in/out tables, point to point routers which provide a better finish than saw cuts; a beam saw for unique request, and a stretch wrap machine for blanks & some finished products.

One of the newest machines on the floor is a Guillotine - custom built in late 2004 to the O'Brien Group's specifications and the only one of its type in the world. This machine is twice as fast as a normal saw for cutting laminate with increased accuracy (increase quality, decreased wastage).