CNCs for laminated beams, CLT walls and timber structures at Open House Essetre

From 6 to 10 March 2023, the event was held in Essetre Open House. The Italian company producing CNCs for joinery, joinery and wooden houses has opened the doors of its Thiene factory to all those interested in such equipment. For 5 days, wood construction manufacturers from all over the world could see the machines working on everything from joists for roof trusses and laminated beams to walls for CLT. From Romania, wooden house builders and manufacturers of wooden elements for construction, accompanied by the distributor Essetre, the company Ligna Dumi Tech. We were also present at the event to find out as much information as possible about the machines and to film them. Until the technical materials and films are available, some hot impressions.

Essetre, a family-owned company with flexibility and fast decision-making

Essetre is a typical Italian family company. Founded 44 years ago by Giovanni Sella, the company has evolved from the first pantograph built by the owner in his garage to giant CNCs capable of machining 13.5m long and 3.5m wide CLT walls. Giovanni now runs the company with his three children and forms a big family with over 50 employees. They support and help each other, united through thick and thin.

At Essetre they only make CNCs. They started with machines that machined kitchen worktops, gradually developing new models for different requirements. Giovanni, the big boss, as we all fondly call him, has always been the brains behind the machines. He was always learning, improving and innovating to build the best possible machines. One of his sons follows him and is responsible for automation.

The main advantage of a medium-sized family business is flexibility. It adapts easily to the times, and decisions are made much faster. Being such a company, it wasn't hard for Essetre to see the growing trend in wooden house building and adapt production for this area. Now, over 90% of the machines are for machining joists for roof trusses, lamellar beams and CLT/X-LAM. The equipment is tailored to the needs of the customers, each one is practically made to order. We work with the customer to build on an existing base to develop customised machinery that ensures efficient and accurate processing of wooden elements.

Production hall turned showroom

Essetre does not work from stock, the machines are made to order. However, you can see the range of machines in the virtual showroom opened during the pandemic. For the event Open House took advantage of a period when orders were varied. Thus, 7 different machines were ready for testing and dispatch in the production hall at the same time:

• Techno PF 1250 Evo - Patented CNC for the construction of wooden structures, trusses, beams and CLT walls. The model is available with one or two machining heads;
•  Techno PF 2T - CNC for cutting, drilling and milling of laminated beams and wooden elements used in the construction of wooden houses, roofs, pergolas, gazebos, playgrounds, etc;
• Techno Fast - Versatile CNC with monobloc structure for beam processing;
• Techno Saw - Flexible and compact CNC for processing elements with small cross-sections (elements for the structure of wooden houses, light or solid beams, etc.);
• Techno Multiwall - CNC for processing curved beams, CLT walls or walls on wooden structure. An optional automatic panel turning system can be installed;
• Techno Multiwall XS - CNC with mobile portal for the processing of wood structure walls, CLT and curved beams.

In addition to these machines, there were also two second-hand machines in the hall. These came from customers whose businesses are growing and want to upgrade to more powerful or larger equipment. The machines are taken over by Essetre, checked and overhauled. Electrical, mechanical and automatic parts are mostly replaced. They are then sold and customers receive a discount.

The event was not a big one and perhaps some, used to the big producers, were disappointed. But it was dense, with lots of complex information and opportunities to talk to technicians and sales representatives to discuss the best options for your business.

A good opportunity for showcasing equipment, but also for brand building and socialising

Such in-house events are a good opportunity to strengthen brand image, create strong business ties and even long-lasting friendships. Besides the presentation part, opportunities are always created for meetings, discussions and debates. The most suitable occasions are lunchtime meetings which, in Italy, is treated with great seriousness. That is to say, without food there is no food, and at the table there is continuous, lively discussion, ideas are put forward, arguments are made.

This gave us the opportunity to meet new people, discuss the problems they face and also to make friends. All over a glass of old grappa that loosened tongues and whetted appetites for stories. It was a successful event that we'll be talking about again soon.