There has been some restructuring at National Masonry that has seen it take on the agency for Emmedue, while retaining MarmoMeccanica edge polishers and saws. Both companies will be exhibiting at Marmomacc with National Masonry there to support them.

National Masonry has also retained online sales of the lifting and storage equipment of the leading German distributor, Weha – and Weha will also be exhibiting in Verona.

Due to the changing shape of National Masonry, it has parted company with two of its long-standing agencies – Cobalm and Mondial – while establishing an international business in used machinery under the name of Stone Equipment International.

Andy Bell, who owns the company, was keen to see if he could expand its used machinery business outside the UK. He trialled the idea two years ago with some machines he sold in Australia. It soon became clear that with National Masonry’s infrastructure and Andy’s contacts, everything was already in place to make it work smoothly, and there was certainly a global demand for used machinery. Stone Equipment International was born.

“The international used machinery market was being serviced by independent agents who just didn’t have the back-up or contacts to keep up with the demand or properly service the areas they were working in.” says Andy. “They would contact me to buy machines for their customers, but now the customer can buy directly from me without additional middleman costs and knowing I have technicians and an office team to make sure it’s a smooth, stress-free process.

“Taking the next step into international sales was easy for us. We were already very active in promoting our online presence, which has meant that the business has come to us.”

Expanding the boundaries of the used machinery market has taken nothing away from National Masonry’s new machinery sales, which are thriving, especially the Emmedue saws that it started selling in January this year.

Emmedue makes saws across the board, from the entry level three axes Fusion to the Discovery five axes. National Masonry has already sold seven three axes machines, one four axes and one five axes. Sales of two more four axes Emmedues are imminent.

Cristian Montinari has taken over the reins from his father at Emmedue. He is forward thinking and a strong believer in investing in research and development. He is now driving the company forward.

As part of the Emmedue package, National Masonry has taken into stock half a dozen ES bench saws from both the ES Heavy range, at 2m, 2.5m and 3m, and the entry level ES, at 1m, 1.3m, 1.6m and 2m. With stocks in the UK, customers can be up and working within a few days. This goes for the MarmoMeccanica LCV711 edge polisher as well as the Fusion three axes.

Andy says: “We know how expensive downtime is to our customers, so it pays to keep these machines constantly stocked. Emmedue produces technical, hardwearing machines and the company manufactures all its own parts, which gives it total flexibility and speed of service.”

Emmedue is delighted with its new arrangement in the UK. Sales Director Walter Guerra says: “I am extremely happy with our relationship with National Masonry – we had been trying to get it to sell our machines for 15 years after all!

“We are delighted to be working with someone as ambitious and focused as Andy. We are ecstatic with the sales National Masonry has achieved already. We will continue to develop and improve our machines so they are the best they can be – and Andy has our full support for whatever he needs.”

MarmoMeccanica edge polishers continue to be a major part of the National Masonry range, with part exchange deals encouraged. Customers are always delighted with the trade-in value on their old machines and a trade-in is an easy way for customers to make room for their new kit.

National Masonry rates its partnership with Combined Masonry Supplies for Weha lifting and storage kit a great success. National Masonry is handling the internet business while Combined Masonry Supplies looks after customers who prefer face-to-face contact. Weha is more than happy with this arrangement, which offers it greater exposure in the UK and covers every avenue.

As National Masonry has diversified its product range, it has welcomed business development manager Jennifer Walters to the team. Jennifer comes from a strong marketing background in other industries and is working on the internationalisation of the website, rebranding, video blogging and social media presence.

“As a part of the business that has given National Masonry so much success with its online auctions, I aim to amplify its good work over the other areas of the business and make this a core focus,” says Jennifer.