It has been a busy year for Roccia, and as the year draws to a close the activity continues with Roccia announcing it is now representing Brembana and Nicolai and has taken on a new member of staff to help it cope with the workload.
Roccia Machinery is coming to the end of a year in which trading has been so successful that it has needed an extra pair of hands and has appointment Laurel Harrison to assist with the increased workload. He joins the team as an administrative assistant.
The extra member of staff has become necessary to accommodate some important changes Roccia has made to its supplier base.
Firstly, it has signed an agreement with CMS Brembana to promote and sell its range of CNC workcentres and waterjets. Brembana has a worldwide reputation for producing high quality, reliable machinery in this sector of the market. “We took the decision to work with Brembana due to its wide product portfolio encompassing the kitchen worktop and architectural stone markets. This is the final piece of the jigsaw that completes our portfolio of machines for the British and Irish markets,” says Darren Bill, who joined the company in September last year and has now been appointed Sales Director.
One of Roccia’s first tasks with Brembana is to promote the new Speed range of machines, which are available in various bed sizes and are specifically designed to provide high quality, adaptable solutions for the kitchen worktop market.
The machines can be configured in
three-to-five axes to meet the requirements of all customers.
Another development from Roccia is an agreement concluded at the Marmomacc stone exhibition in Verona, Italy, in September to sell the Nicolai range of tooling.
Under the stewardship of Matthew Waterfall, the consumables side of the Roccia business is developing quickly and this agreement with Nicolai represents a major development, bringing on board a significant and well-respected diamond tool manufacturer to add another powerful brand to those on offer from the British distributor based in Derby.
Throughout the year, Roccia has continued to expand its customer base and satisfy the market with the range of machinery and tools on offer. Among this year’s highlights has been the sale of a GMM Intra CNC saw to Lamont Stone, based in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. Lamont will take delivery of its new saw in the New Year.
Another highlight was the delivery of a new GMM Litox saw to Dunhouse Quarries in County Durham.
Meister Masonry, in Gloucestershire, has ordered a package of new saws for the production facility it currently has under construction – a package that includes the new Zeda CNC saw, one version of which was making its debut on the GMM stand at Marmomacc.
Meister Director Richard Heather and his team visited the GMM production facility in Gravellona, Italy, as part of their
decision-making process and were impressed to see just what it is that makes GMM such a highly respected brand among British masonry companies.
The Zeda, the latest development from GMM, is the largest format CNC saw GMM has ever produced, with a maximum of 1600mm rise and fall on the
Z-axis. The machine can be used for standard sawing operations as well as routing, drilling and column production, if the optional lathe function is part of the package.
Other important milestones along the way for Roccia this year included the recent sale of a Cemar flat edge polisher and a package to Cool Rock in Chippenham that included a new Brio CNC saw and a Toro Quick bullnose edge polisher.
As Roccia heads into 2013, the company is planning to instal additional machinery at its Derby showroom, including the new version of the Intra CNC saw with a vacuum manipulator and the tower vertical edge polisher.
Technical tours for existing and prospective clients are also being planned for 2013 to GMM and Brembana in Italy to see more of the ranges and further impress on customers the back-up and support on offer from the suppliers.
“We feel it is incredibly useful for customers to come into the showroom and have time to use the machines in a demonstration mode so they can ask us the relevant questions in a relaxed, informal setting,” says Arran Langford, Roccia’s Technical Director. “With the new functionality and options available on the latest generation of machines, after-sales support and training will become increasingly important next year.”
Some of that support will be offered by Arran on Alphacam software now being offered with the 5-axes saws, because he has just completed an intensive training programme on using it.
Arran works alongside Jason Knowles, Roccia’s installation engineer who is responsible for the technical support and in-house training that is so critical to the supplier’s customer base.
Darren Bill, who has the task of continuing to build the customer base while integrating the new products into the company structure, says: “It has been an exciting and rewarding experience being involved with Roccia’s growth over the last 13 months. We have a fantastic product range and a level of experience within the company that is proving invaluable.”
Derrick Fretwell, the Managing Director, sums it all up like this: “From the concept of Roccia Machinery in 2009 we had two goals and one aim: Firstly to acquire a portfolio of quality machinery manufactures with impeccable worldwide reputation for reliability, service and back-up; secondly to establish an experienced team to manage and co-ordinate all facets of the business.
“These first two goals we feel have now been achieved.
“Our one aim is to provide our industry with the best available technology, support and service. This will continue to be our aim as we grow.”