The Robland Tour

After an enormous continental breakfast buffet and vast quantities of delicious Belgian coffee, we boarded the van for the main event of the tripa tour of the Robland factory, located in an industrial area just a few miles from the center of town. Best known in the U.S. for its X31 five-function combination machine, Robland-Landuyt nv (the official name of the company) manufactures a variety of combination machines, tablesaws, shapers, industrial-duty panel saws, molding machines and dust collectors.

Founded in 1972, in a tiny 1,100-sq.ft. facility by the Robert Landuyt family of Bruges, Roblands initial mission was to manufacture combination machines for the hobby woodworking market. Their first years production totaled a mere 100 machines. Over the years, the company gradually added larger, professional woodworking machinery to the product line. This year, Robland will produce over 7000 machinesincluding 5500 combination machinesand their worldwide sales volume will exceed 704 million BEF (Belgian francs), or about $22 million. Their chief competitors include Felder, the Austrian high-end combination machine maker, and Altendorf, the German panel saw manufacturer.

Roblands manufacturing philosophy, as outlined by their sales director, Guido Blomme, has always been to acquire and use the latest technologies in their factoryincluding CAD/CAM capabilities, CNC machining centers, laser cutters and other state-of-the-art metalworking equipment. According to Yves Damman, Roblands technical supervisor, the company prefers to manufacture almost all their parts in-house. The only parts purchased from outside vendors are motors, electrical controls, aluminum extrusions, and raw castings for machine beds and tables. This self-contained manufacturing approach helps to keep costs down, while ensuring tighter control over quality.

Another closely followed tenet at Robland, according to company officials, is the corporate belief in "over-engineering." Robland machines are not lightweights, by any stretch of the imagination. The X31 combination machine, for example, tips the scales at over 1,100 lbs. Robland believes that the additional mass of extra-beefy table castings and heavy welded-steel bases helps to dampen vibrations and improve the quality of the cut. As a longtime fan of heavy old American machinery, I didnt need to be persuaded about the value of extra mass.

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