Craven Fawcett takes the strain for West Yorkshire factory

Craven Fawcett, one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of clay preparation equipment and part of Group Rhodes, has recently completed a project to design and produce a manipulator for WT Knowles & Sons Ltd, which has improved the manufacture and manual handling for clay chimney pots and clay pipes.

The Elland-based manufacturer required Craven Fawcett to design a bespoke manually operated manipulator that would handle pipe fittings, without the need for operator intervention.

Craven Fawcett, which has supplied clay pipe machinery to WT Knowles for over 70 years,  designed and manufactured the manipulator to the customer’s exact specification within a four month period.

Glynn Dixon, Contracts Manager at Craven Fawcett, said: “Prior to the manipulator being installed, the production process involved the manual lifting of pipe fittings, which the company was aware could cause health and safety issues.  The new manipulator that we have designed takes all the strain, making it much quicker and safer for operators.”

Martin Knowles, Managing Director of WT Knowles, said: “We have worked with Craven Fawcett for many years, so were aware of their bespoke design and manufacture expertise.  We are really pleased with the manipulator’s performance. Not only has it had manual handling benefits, but also we have seen an increase in production levels at the factory since it was installed.”

Craven Fawcett has supplied extruders and other machinery to the Clay industry for 175 years and is at the forefront of technology in the field of extruded pelletisation. 

The company manufactures a range of special equipment including Box Feeders, Grinding Mills, Mixers & Extruders sold globally for the heavy clay and ceramics industry, as well as the mining and quarrying industries.

Alongside high quality Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) products and services, Craven Fawcett offers guidance on material selection, component finish and supply of spare parts, in order to optimise production efficiency and reduce the frequency of machinery repair. This is backed by a team of highly trained and experienced service engineers dedicated to clay preparation machinery, who repair and maintain Craven Fawcett equipment at customers’ sites.

Craven Fawcett is part of Group Rhodes, one of the largest Original Equipment Manufacturers in its field.

For further details visit the website www.grouprhodes.co.uk or call 0 (44) 1924 37 11 61.

For more information about clay chimney pot and clay pipe manufacturing, visit the website www.wtknowles.co.uk.