Footprint, cost and service were three main factors that led Rainbow Frame and Truss to become the first Australian owners of a Vekta Razer V5. Rainbow Frame and Truss is located in Albany, four and a half hours south of Perth and has serviced the Great Southern area since 1995. Richard Schoof and Drew Ryder manage the family owned and operated business.

In 2010, Richard and Drew decided that it was time to investigate linear saws. They wanted to increase their production, improve safety and decrease waste.

We looked at a few other saws, the Razers did not have a good reputation at the time and Mitek said not to go there. However the footprint, price and serviceability were important to us. We’re in Albany, if there are dramas getting anyone down to Albany can be a pain. We had a computerised spida saw and to get anyone from over east to come and fix it was difficult. We could be out of action for a couple of weeks.

When you just have the one saw you can’t afford that. The Razer, being a local WA saw was important- if there were any dramas, Vekta is just down the road.

Rainbow Frame and Truss noticed the difference immediately.

The speed of operation compared to the other saw immediately improved, what we used to cut in a day, the Razer will do in a couple of hours. Also our use of timber has improved. We used to carry a lot more stock and different lengths. You’d have to work it all out in your brain, now the saw does it all for you. We’ve really been able to reduce the amount of stock held. 

An aspect of the Razer that surprised Richard was how easy the saw is to use and the minimal amount of training operators need.

You get someone on there and within half a day they can operate the saw themselves. They pick it up very easily … without any concerns that they will have an accident unlike the pull saws. 

Considering support was an important factor for Rainbow in purchasing the Razer it was interesting to find out if Vekta had delivered.

Vekta service is something we can’t fault at all. We’ve probably only had the saw out for a day maximum, maybe two. I remember in the early days, Ed would be in America and he would jump on his phone and log in and correct any issue. Being located in a remote area the support was a big concern. It’s different for the big companies with two or three saws. If one goes down they can still keep operating but when you’ve only got the one support is more critical. If it breaks down we need it up and running quick and smart.

So what advice would Richard Schoof give to anyone looking to automate their production and introduce a linear saw?

Maintenance is important. I find the Razer very easy to maintain. The bigger the machine, the more maintenance required. This is not an issue with the Razer. As long as you keep on top of the maintenance and keep up the services you don’t have any issues. We have our scheduled services, an Engineer comes down and spends the day on the saw and then we do the required maintenance in between visits. I really can’t fault the Vekta service and support at all.