Yamazaki Mazak has further strengthened its UK sales team with the appointment of a new dedicated area sales engineer to support Mazak’s existing sales managers in the North of England.

Liam Slack joins from Maydown International Tools, where he held the position of Regional Sales Manager, with a remit to strengthen customer relationships, increase the frequency of customer visits and provide a high-quality service to a growing Mazak customer base.

The appointment is part of Mazak’s focus on bringing its extensive product range to customers specifically searching for competitively priced machines and controls, such as the UK-built CV5-500 5-axis machining center, VCE-600 vertical machining center, QTE Series and the operator-friendly SmoothEz controller.

Liam has more than 15 years’ experience in manufacturing in a variety of roles. Following his CNC machining apprenticeship, he started his career with Sulzer Pumps and has since worked in inspection, quality, production planning and tooling. The new wide-ranging role will see Liam working alongside Mazak’s existing area sales managers in the North of England, Karl Hargreaves, Mark Ireland and Joe Trozzo.

Jason Butler, Sales Director at Yamazaki Mazak, said: “Liam brings exceptionally strong experience to his new role with Mazak and a real knowledge of subcontract manufacturing. He has a background in CNC machining across multiple sectors, he knows how subcontractors work and the machining challenges they face. In addition, Liam’s appointment offers us greater strength-in-depth across the North of England, which is a hotbed of subcontract manufacturing and one of our most important markets.”

Liam comments: “I am looking forward to bringing my knowledge of subcontract manufacturing, particularly tooling, to my new role. It is a very exciting time to join Mazak, with its increased focus on helping subcontractors access leading-edge technologies at affordable prices. Machines like the CV5-500 offer the ambitious subcontractor the opportunity to upgrade their machining operations, enter new markets and win more business. Mazak has an exciting story to tell about supporting British manufacturing and I’m delighted to be joining the team.”