March 26, 2012 The Cutting Edge

Volume 15 | Issue 1

From modest beginnings over 80 years ago, Metalúrgica Schiffer SA is one of Brazil’s leading producers of industrial saw machinery, as well

With sales of lumber up 4 percent according to recent statistics, world economics seem to be getting back to basics and sawmills around the globe are investing in cutting edge technology for the efficient treatment and preparation of wood. Brazil’s exports currently account for around 5 percent of world totals, but the country offers enormous potential with the world’s largest forests and around 40 percent of the territory covered by trees.

Metalúrgica Schiffer SA based in Ponta Grossa in the southern state of Paraná, has become one of Brazil’s most important suppliers of machines and equipment for the country’s booming wood industry.

STARTING A FAMILY
“In our first decade of existence from 1938 to 1948, our small mechanics workshop founded by the brothers Felinto and Conrado Schiffer, became a successful company with 40 employees. The 30 square-meter plant manufactured trailers for trucks and machines for local sawmills,” begins current company President Roberto Schiffer.

In 1964 the company changed its name from Irmãos Schiffer (Schiffer Brothers) to Metalúrgica Schiffer SA, and also began to produce semi-trailers for long distance heavy-goods transport. Holding true to its family values, the company expanded its equipment lines to satisfy the growing needs of its clients.

TURNING TECHNOLOGY
Despite traditional values, the family company prioritizes innovation and prides itself on its position at the forefront of the industry. “In particular, CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) technology has revolutionized our equipment,” Schiffer explains. Developed in the US for the Air Force by metalworking machine tool builders, CNC lathes and milling machines use a stream of digital information (code) from a computer to move motors and other positioning systems in order to guide a spindle over raw material.

Among the company’s best-selling products are multiplefeed, continuous cutting band saws, which operate cutting wheels of 800 to 2,000 millimeters at high-speeds ideally on reforested wood, hydraulic saws for blocks and boards and circular saws with single, double or multiple axes. Metalúrgica Schiffer also produces a variety of saw blade sharpeners to ensure the effectiveness of their equipment after sale. The machines are adjustable to sharpen blades of different lengths and thicknesses.

The range of trailers caters for the reforestation industry. Complete and semi-trailers for all applications are fitted with chassis, suspension and axles appropriate for their functions (carrying logs, lumber and wood waste) and depending on these are reinforced and/or equipped with illumination and reflective fittings and other accessories. Hydraulic cranes for loading boards onto the trailers are also available. Metalúrgica Schiffer manufactures parts at its on-site foundry.

“Over the years we have expanded the products we offer to include cast iron, steel, stainless steel, aluminum, bronze, Celeron and nylon parts too,” adds Schiffer. “Either in bars, tubes or slabs for applications in motors, bearings, pulleys and bushings, or for screws, nuts and mechanical and electrical tools, we have always provided for the maintenance of our machinery.”

INVESTMENT IN CONTINUITY
Dedication to the continued success of its lines and the ongoing innovation of each product is clear from Schiffer’s every response. “In addition to CNC technology we have invested in painting equipment that operates by total immersion of the parts,” he adds. The strategy is a proven success. Metalúrgica Schiffer is Brazil’s leading supplier of machinery for the wood industry and ranked seventh in trailer and transport equipment in the forestation sector. “Our growth has been organic and careful – with 84 years of experience and products that meet international quality standards we consider ourselves the most reliable brand on the market,” says Schiffer.

Market leadership and a strong family tradition afford Metalúrgica Schiffer an enviable position in a competitive field. With heavy investment in the latest technology and software and a national economy that shows no sign of slowing down, the company is on course for continued success. True to its culture however, Roberto Schiffer is quick to point out that Metalúrgica Schiffer SA’s secure future is thanks to honesty, reliability and durability of its strategies, products and customer care.

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