Custom woodworking requires skills and experience. Cousins Furniture was born from the Rodrigues cousins when they brought together their skills to build some of the finest craftsmanship in Long Island, NY. Over 30 years later, under the leadership of Ilidio and Jack Rodrigues, the family business has grown and is now a team of more than 45 strong. The latest addition to this family is a new HOMAG SANDTEQ wide belt sander.
But this isn’t the whole story. In 2018, Cousins decided that it was time for a new wide belt sander to help automate their sanding processes and save time and money. With every job being different and unique, finding the right machine which was both easy to use for all employees and adaptable to their work variety, was very important.
After looking at several options and with the consultation of the Stiles sanding team, Cousins decided on a HOMAG SANDTEQ W-225 RC wide belt sander. The machine provided the versatility needed, with the ability to calibrate and finish sand solid wood, sand veneer, and also sand sealer and primer. It was nice blend of performance and value.
“We are a small family business and are always looking to spend our money wisely. For us, the two head HOMAG sander seemed to be a good fit. It was flexible, allowed us to remove labor and automate certain processes quickly due to the technology, but was affordable. We had our doubts about how well our employees would embrace the technology– since they are craftsmen,” explained Nuno Rodrigues, Cousins Furniture Manager
It was after the new HOMAG SANDTEQ W-225 RC was installed that Cousins started to get a taste for what a capable wide belt sander with the right technology could do for their business. Their employees quickly became comfortable with the sander due to ease of use, and they started to do more and more with the sander.
The experience was explained best by Ilidio Rodrigues. “We were very happy with the HOMAG 225 RC sander, and it really opened our eyes to what a was possible with a good wide belt sander. We were saving time and removing labor from so many processes - producing very high quality work in a fraction of the time it was taking previously – and our products were coming out consistent. We started to look what else we could do with the sander to help remove more time from very labor intensive processes – such as high gloss.”
In only 15 short months, Cousins was pushing the envelope on what was possible with their SANDTEQ W-200 series machine, and was ready to discuss the next level of technology to help them do more.
The next step for Cousins was a HOMAG SANDTEQ W-335 QCH, which expands on the capabilities of their former machine. With a cross belt, combi head and chevron belt, along with the magnetic segmented pad technology, Cousins now has the flexibility to easily sand anything that comes their way, from solid wood, to veneer, to sealer, including things like high gloss polishing.
HOMAG SANDTEQ W-335 QCH
“Once we understood the sanding technology better and had some experience, it opened up more possibilities for us. We had already seen the payback in just 1 year, and we realized that it made sense to upgrade our machine to give us a cross belt and chevron belt. We didn’t want to give up any capability that our 225RC had, because we loved it so much. To be able to automate our high gloss sanding process and take our finishes to the next level was well worth the additional investment in the new machine. We already knew the power of a proper sanding solution firsthand, which made our decision easy. We couldn’t be more happy with our new HOMAG sander and what this technology has done for our business.”
-Nuno Rodrigues, Cousins Furniture Manager
