Mpumalanga, and its capital Mbombela, is the centre of South Africa’s sawmilling and timber industry. When the cutting equipment supplier and blade sharpener Bremsaw was up for sale, First Cut saw this as an ideal opportunity to further its presence in the Mpumalanga timber industry.

Since the acquisition of Bremsaw, First Cut has been focusing on consolidation and ensuring that all business processes are properly streamlined. “Though the company is doing well, there is always potential for more growth,” explains First Cut Director Gary Willis, adding that he would like to see an expansion of the services which Bremsaw offers to the Mpumalanga region and the timber industry in particular.

First Cut is busy gearing up its Bremsaw branch with extra staff in anticipation of an upturn in 2020. While wood production in Mpumalanga embraces timber, paper and pulp, Bremsaw’s overriding emphasis is on serving the timber industry. “We also carry out services such as collecting and re-sharpening blades,” continues Willis.

The branch supplies its customers with a range of cutting implements including grinding wheels, planer blades, finger-joint cutters, crosscut saws, multi-ripping saws and paper knives. However, the most popular saw blade supplied by the Mbombela branch is the First Cut-manufactured Predator narrow band saw, which has proved very popular with the manufacturers of pallets among other industries.

Predator blades have been designed with hardened, tempered carbon steel tips to with stand the harsh usage encountered in the timber industry.

While the Bremsaw business is primarily focused on timber, Mbombela is a busy regional town with a population of some 59,000 with the need for cutting consumables and capital equipment. “We trust that in the future we will be able to use this branch as a springboard to service general industry in the area,” he continues. “We would like to promote the use of our Starrett, Eclipse blades and particularly now, our new range of locally manufactured Messer welding rods – a top quality product at a very reasonable price,” he asserts.

“By promoting both Bremsaw’s timber services and supporting these with sales of general retail/industrial cutting equipment, I anticipate the branch will flourish in the near future,” says Willis.

At First Cut, we look forward to even more efficiently serving the Mpumalanga region with our premium quality cutting equipment and consumables,” he concludes.