Having served his apprenticeship, Barber moved into sales, selling linear bearing products to machine-tool builders. He then spent some time living and working in Australia, again involved in sales of machine-tool accessories prior to ‘coming home’ and taking on a machine-tool sales role specialising in high-end, multi-axis machining centres and multi-tasking machines.
“The opportunity to move to XYZ Machine Tools and focus on sales of its 5-axis and automation systems attracted me due to the direction that I saw the business taking,” he says. “Having now seen the machines and automation up close, I’m more than reassured. The quality and specification of machines such as the UMC-5X are a match for anything that I’ve sold before; machines that were classed as the pinnacle in their field.”
Barber will work in conjunction with XYZ Machine Tools’ existing team of area sales managers to develop sales of the UMC-5X and UMC-4+1 5-axis machining centres, and the Robo-Tend fully integrated machine-tending system.
“Martin’s experience in selling high-value multi-axis machine tools will be a terrific addition to our team,” says Nigel Atherton, managing director at XYZ Machine Tools. “We recognise that to win over potential customers who may not be traditional XYZ buyers, we need a dedicated resource in this area; someone who can spend the time needed to put over the significant benefits that we as a company can offer.”
