Out With The Old, In With The New
Aetna Building Solutions Fully Automates Panel Fabrication with Installation of an Advanced New Biesse Beam Saw
Written by Amanda Murphy, Marketing Manager
Published November 2024
Aetna Building Solutions, the Midwest’s leading wholesale building product distributor, has announced the installation of a new Biesse Panel Saw to speed production of high-quality fabricated panels, in volumes of from one to many thousands.
Within the last decade, the fabrication industry has evolved significantly. With demand surging for cut-to-size, made-to-order panels — whether laminated, MDF, particleboard, plywood or other materials – panel fabricators are working to keep pace, with increased automation and the use of advanced technologies to deliver greater precision, efficiency and faster production. Aetna, known for their industry knowledge, reliability, and dedication to the customer, is at the forefront of these efforts to offer the most innovative, up-to-date panel fabrication solutions and technologies.
The most recent example is Aetna’s investment in the new Biesse Beam Saw at the Rockford, IL facility, a significant upgrade over an older, less productive saw, and the perfect addition to the ‘Panel Express’ Panel Fabrication Line already in place, according to Aetna Corporate Director of Operations, Ray Zulfer.
“Mark Jardon from Exact Automation and the team at Biesse did a great job minimizing the challenges and keeping Aetna informed on their progress,” said Mr. Zulfer. “The greatest challenge during installation was the scheduling of Aetna’s current workload to ensure our customers were not impacted. Once that hurdle was crossed, we had to coordinate the disassembly of the old saw and prepping the area for the new saw’s arrival.”
After months of planning, disassembling and removing the old saw, the new one was successfully installed within a week by the Biesse team. The new Aetna Beam Saw will revolutionize the cutting process for particleboard, plywood, medium density fiberboard (MDF), laminated panels and other materials by maximizing output with minimal effort. Two notable features to mention are:
- The turn table, located behind the main blade, will allow stacked material to be turned 90 degrees before it is pushed forward for cutting. This feature reduces the amount of handling for the operator thus reducing fatigue.
- The twin pusher design, located near material is fed, allows for both rip and crosscuts to be done simultaneously as it is equipped with the main pushing device and an auxiliary one. This feature will reduce overall cutting time by 40% for jobs that require both cuts.
“The new saw will allow Aetna to offer cutting services that were not possible previously,” responded Fabrication Manager, Mick Vowles during an interview. “We are excited to promote this new saw to customers. With the updated efficient software, Aetna can now take a list of cut parts to be produced and the panels available and the system will calculate the best solution to minimize material usage, sectioning times, and production costs.
Got an upcoming job or large project? Aetna has what it takes. Contact them today for all your fabrication needs.
