Italian machinery company Breton, previously represented in the UK and Ireland by Ebor, have established their own separate British company, Breton Machinery UK Ltd, headed by Carl Sharkey, who has spent the past few years trading as Laser Products Europe setting up a distribution network in Europe for an American laser templating device.

He is joined in the new company by technician John Hatzer, formerly with Ebor and consequently with a background in and technical knowledge of Breton’s products.

Breton Machinery UK Ltd will be based in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Tel: 08455 440 587. Email: office@bretonmachine-ry.co.uk.

Breton Machinery UK Ltd will look after the sales, servicing under warranty and post-warranty, and the spare parts for all Breton’s machines throughout the UK and Ireland.

Carl says he has already sold a five axes Breton saw to Stone Co and is currently negotiating an £800,000 contract.

“There’s still a lot of people interested in machinery,” he told NSS. “I don’t think anyone is going to break any records this year but there are still some big contracts to be had. It’s a case of finding people who are still working.”

He says he wants to expand the customer base for the brand to encompass quarries and a broader range of masonry interests, as well as kitchen worktop companies.

Breton are promising a new workcentre in the £100,000 price bracket at the bottom of their range that they intend to have ready for the Marmomacc exhibition in Verona this year.

Breton’s area sales manager, Michele Padovan, said: “We have known Carl Sharkey for a long time. Carl accepted with enthusiasm our proposal of creating something new together, something that will aim at a sole goal: quality in machines and quality in service. The fact he invested in John, a young and skilled technician, is tangible evidence of his full commitment.”

• NSS takes a look at the main features of the Breton Smart Cut S/NC 600-800 in the machinery feature this month. Click here to see the review.