Phil Hopkins joins SGS Carbide Tool (UK) as area manager for the North of the country

He brings with him a wealth of production engineering knowledge and experience, and will be responsible for direct customer business growth, especially in the oil and gas sector, as well as cutting tool distributor liaison and support. A time-served craft apprentice, Hopkins' original intention was to attend university. He explains: "I studied for A-levels at the same time as doing a craft apprenticeship, just as a summer job. Having passed the A-levels required, I secured a place at university and decided to leave the apprenticeship to read mechanical engineering. "However, I only went to university for three weeks before I realised that lectures were not for me. I approached the aerospace subcontract company I had been doing the apprenticeship with and, fortunately, I was allowed to continue, as I enjoyed the hands-on element far more." After receiving his indenture papers, he stayed with the County Durham-based company, which became CAV Aerospace. Producing structural stringers and spars for Airbus as a key supply partner, the company is well-known for its de-icing leading edge system. When Hopkins started at the company, there were fewer than 100 people, and when he moved on after eight years the company had grown to employ 600 people across a number of sites. Following various production engineering roles, he worked for Crabtree Engineering, where he was tasked with bringing the company up-to-date. "The business had not invested for around 17 years prior to my joining them. I convinced the owner that we needed to move forward and he gave me £2 million to invest. Having purchased CNC machine tools to improve the production efficiency, I was beginning to think 'what next?'" he says. The answer came when he was approached by Cromwell Industrial Tools with a different challenge, the role of technical engineer. That was the job title, but not the role, adds Hopkins. "It was frustrating, I could speak to the customers on a technical level and help with the design of fixtures and so on, but that was not what the company wanted. I wanted to maintain my integrity as an engineer and see the job through, not just sell a tool that could possibly do the job, but without further technical input, it probably would not provide the best result for the customer." So he spoke to SGS Carbide Tool and visited the company's European headquarters in Wokingham. Impressed by the facilities, and the direction of the company going forward, he was also overwhelmed by the high performance levels of the SGS products. He concludes: "Unusually, I had never used any of the SGS high performance products. Now, having seen them in action, I am confident that all the products perform at levels that will prove to the customers that significant savings can be made. Solid carbide business will always be there and I am keen to get the SGS name established in my area."