The success was driven by a strong pipeline of high-value large project wins, based around the company’s experience and competence in project management, engineering support and turnkey solutions. In addition, a particularly strong December Open House attracted more than 700 visitors over the four days.
During the year, Mazak also sold its largest ever machine into the UK market and achieved strong sales for 5-axis machines, Multi-Tasking machines – with 2023 marking the 35th anniversary of the introduction of Mazak’s flagship INTEGREX machine series – and the QT series of turning centers.
Alan Mucklow, managing director UK, Eire and National Distributors at Yamazaki Mazak, said the company benefited from the strengthening of its sales team and the breadth of its service and support offering.
He added: “We’ve brought in new salespeople and reorganised our structure into northern and southern regions to bring additional customer focus. What’s more, we’ve invested in our service group with even more engineers and two new service apprentices to build skills for the future.”
He continued: “The issue of service is becoming more and more important, particularly for subcontractors. It’s no longer just about the machine but how you back the sale up once it has left the factory. Mazak now has the largest service and support department in the UK and offer the same level of service and support commitment throughout our product range, from a simple 2-axis lathe through to the most sophisticated machining center.”
Results were also helped by the strong performance of key sectors, including aerospace, defence and medical, along with the recovery in the energy sector and in subcontracting.
Mazak also recorded its most successful year ever for UK laser machine sales, in part due to the introduction of the NEO range of laser processing machines that combine ultra-fast cutting speeds with exceptional accuracy.
“We are seeing a lot of subcontractors broadening their capabilities by combining machines with lasers to offer a complete manufacturing solution,” said Mucklow. “We feel we have an advantage with this type of customer because they know Mazak, they know the controls and they have experience of our best-in-class service and support.”
Mucklow said that the outlook for UK manufacturing is brighter. “Economic conditions and order pipelines are improving quickly for subcontractors, and we are seeing a corresponding increase in enquiries and machine orders. In addition, reshoring is continuing apace, and we are getting a lot of subcontractors needing to specify and order a machine quickly to take advantage of this trend.
“We have worked hard and invested in our UK facility to shorten lead times on key UK-built machines and offer innovative finance solutions that enable customers to access the latest technology quickly and easily. The key is to invest now to take advantage of the recovery.”
