Kerf Developments to open new technology centre; wins Master Service & Support status

Further details have not been revealed, but managing director Dan Taylor says: "We are aiming to provide an environment where customers can see for themselves how easy it is to take design ideas and turn them into finished parts, and in doing so see the benefits of the various cutting technologies that Kerf offers. Customers will be free to spend time on the various machines and ensure that they are comfortable with their decision prior to ordering systems from us." The company, which describes itself as "the leading British supplier of profile cutting, oxy-fuel cutting, high definition plasma cutting and waterjet cutting equipment", has, in fact, just been recognised by principal Burny Kaliburn (part of Lincoln Electric) through a Master Service & Support status award. This accolade rewards the investment that Kerf Developments has made over last 12 months in providing the highest possible levels of service and support to its customers in the UK & Ireland. The Rochdale-based company is, in fact, Europe's largest installer of Burny and Kaliburn systems. Commenting, Kerf Developments' Taylor says: "We have been continually evolving our products and are conscious that service and support is a key element of any solution. To this end, we have worked closely with Burny & Kaliburn to integrate their products into our machines. We have committed our staff to extensive and ongoing training on the Burny, Kaliburn and Inova range of control systems, plasma systems and torch height control units." This continuous training program sees Kerf Developments staff undergoing regular internal training, as well as training at Burny in Germany on the latest software and product updates. Part of the service offering is supported by Kerf Development's investment in remote diagnostic support for customers. It has invested heavily in computer and networking software to provide this feature to its customers, so end users have a cutting machine that can be remotely interrogated by the Kerf Developments engineer to maximise uptime and eliminate costly, time-consuming downtime and engineer call-outs. Confirming the high level of service and support provided by Kerf Developments, Chris Desmond, international sales director for Burny-Kaliburn, says: "We supply our systems to a number of machine manufacturers and Kerf is currently the most pro-active within Europe, with respect to training, service and support, spare part supply and providing an overall package to its end users. One clear example of this is Kerf's extensive stock holding of consumables and spare parts. Kerf can supply its customers with spares and parts within 24 hours." And he compares this to other companies, adding: "Many OEMs offer little or no support for their machines, as the product knowledge, expertise and spare part availability is often very limited. Kerf has invested heavily in providing full support for machines that are supplied by alternate vendors with Burny-Kaliburn and Legacy systems, whereas the OEMs that originally supplied the machine may have no UK support facility and, in many instances, have not kept up to date with existing product developments, let alone systems that may be over 30 years old." He adds further that, unlike many profile cutting machine manufacturers, Kerf has installed demo machines at its facility. "This not only highlights the quality of the Kerf machines and its cutting solutions, but also how the machines work in perfect synergy with the Burny-Kaliburn systems to optimise productivity and quality. Furthermore, it provides a training facility for end users."