How Lesta’s Robots Are Elevating Production and Automation in Wood Finishing

KEY POINTS | North American shops demand is growing and in need of solutions to bridge the gap of available workers > Lesta’s new solutions can double a shop’s daily production capacity without hiring more people > Proper automation will create time for employees to improve processes and quality

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Learn how robotics are revolutionizing the furniture finishing world.

Wood finishing work is a craft requiring a keen eye and precise application, which has made it particularly hard to automate, but new technology is changing that. Offering insights on these new capabilities, Manufacturing a Stronger Standard brings listeners a conversation with DeGeest and Lesta USA President Derek DeGeest and Igor Kania, Wood Finishing Specialist for Lesta SRL from Poland.

DeGeest partnered with Lesta to bring its capabilities to the U.S. market. He met Kania and said the relationship has taught him a lot, as his background is mainly in metals, not wood.

As a finishing pro, Kania was able to see the opportunities for automation and used that experience to later help the wood industry in Europe benefit from the power of robotics. He noted he recently sold robot No. 100!

Kania and DeGeest discussed the differences and similarities in the European and U.S. wood markets, including processes and finishes.

“Europe has decades of history with self-learning robots and have adapted their entire processes to work with the technology. In North America, we had to consider the best transition for general industry wood finishers to begin using automation and we couldn’t just drop robots into U.S. plants. We did that by traveling the country to meet with company owners, listen to their needs and concerns, evaluate their products and adapt the technology. We came up with three adaptable solutions tailored for the U.S. market using a combination of self-learning robots and autonomous scanning for cabinets, chairs, doors, and furniture” DeGeest said.

LestaUSA’s technology empowers company’s current team by giving them the tools to accomplish more while still allowing their experience to be used to finish their parts. This creates time for them to focus on improving the quality and productivity for their company while learning new skills and creating an opportunity to extend their careers in finishing industry.

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