The 21st of August 2019 marked another great achievement with the successful installation and commissioning of PG Bison’s sixth melamine faced board (MFB) press.
A melamine faced board can be manufactured using a melamine press machine. Image credit: PG Bison
“This is a first of its kind robotic line and was engineered by PG Bison’s own highly competent inhouse project team,” says CEO Gerhard Victor. A Melamine press machine is suitable for laminating melamine paper in double sides of MDF (medium density fibreboard) and PB (chipboard) to produce furniture board, with deep relief or synchronised grain engraving.
“Most furniture is produced using MFB are several thicknesses used, but typically the industry standard is 25mm thick. One of the options for melamine faced chipboard (MFC) is a real wood grain, which is repeatedly printed onto a melamine film, and heat processed onto a sheet of chipboard,” says Victor.
The quality of that chipboard mainly depends on the density of the board. Much domestic furniture uses low density board, which is light. Most commercial grade furniture is made of a dense board – as it stops flexing and bending. The finished board is then cut to shape and size, edged with a banding machine to protect the edges.
“In the six months since the project was announced, our project team were able to unpack the MFB press from its storage in Boksburg, completely refurbish and update it with the latest technology and ship it to Piet Retief for installation and commissioning,” adds Victor.
Manufacturing executive, Brand Engelbrecht is thrilled with the project team’s performance, commending their completion of the project earlier than planned and within budget.
