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Kronospan, Chirk

D-Drill help with major refurbishment of UK headquarters

A major international manufacturer had to call in the cutting crew to help with the refurb of its UK headquarters.

Kronospan employs 14,000 people worldwide, making a range of wood-based panels including products such as MDF and laminate flooring.

The firm’s UK base is in Chirk, near Wrexham, and has been undergoing a major upgrade – including investment in new technology and machinery.

That upgrade, however, left the company with a major challenge – removing a 40-tonne concrete plinth that was eight metres long, two metres wide and around three metres high, that had previously provided the base for a heavy piece of machinery.

The company called in the team from D-Drill’s office in the North West to find a solution.

Neil Wood, the branch manager of D-Drill – which is celebrating 50 years in business – said it was built on a long-standing relationship.

He said: “A great deal of our work comes from main contractors who sub-contract us in but we’ve worked direct for Kronospan over many years now and they know and trust us.

“As soon as I saw the plinth’s shape and dimensions, I knew that wire-sawing it out was going to be the only solution as that would allow us to cut it into manageable chunks before removing.”

Neil set members of the D-Drill team to work on the task and by wire-sawing out the plinth in various size pieces, they managed to have the whole plinth removed within five days using the latest, state-of-the-art high frequency machines.

Neil said: “We were very pleased with the way the job went – it was completed safely, efficiently and within programme.

“It’s always reassuring for a client to know that we will come in, look at each individual challenge and find the right solution to ensure the job is done quickly, safely and efficiently.

“We look forward to working with Kronospan again in the future.”

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