From the beginning of February, SMC Stone Machines is officially launched to sell CMS Brembana CNC workcentres, bridge saws and waterjet cutters, Montresor edge polishers, Bovone vertical edge polishers (said to work well with Dekton) and Bovone diamond tools (BDT), and Pavoni small CNC engraving machines. A range of hand tools is promised soon.

SMC Stone Machines says it has hit the ground running with its line-up of machines on offer. It has been established as a sister company to Phil Birchall's The Glass Machinery Company, which sells CMS Brembana (and other) machines to the glass industry. It says it has a strong working relationship with CMS, which is renowned for its heavy duty, quality machines.

If you already have a CMS Brembana or Monteresor and SMC has not been in touch with you, you are invited to contact SMC, which will now be your point of contact for the machines in the UK and Ireland for spares and service, as well as sales. You can phone on 01948 841574.

Because it is not just about sales. SMC promises aftersales service and support will be every bit as important to it as sales.

SMC is based near Whitchurch, Shropshire. It employs 10 full-time staff and one part-time IT/marketing specialist. Three office-based personnel look after spares and enquires. Technical support comes from four qualified field engineers who respond to service issues across the UK and Ireland. The sales team is headed by Phil Birchall, the Managing Director.

Phil says: "This is a very exciting time for the company. We have a modern and progressive attitude with a strong focus on support services, which we pride ourselves on. We set the standard very high and we intend to transfer our successful glass machinery business model into the stone industry. We take a pro-active approach to business by putting ourselves with customers, rather than sitting back waiting for the phone to ring.

"This expansion clearly demonstrates our determination to set the standard that others follow and perfectly reflects the quality of the brands incorporated within our stone machinery portfolio, backed up with the second-to-none engineering service we provide. Customers can invest with us because they know they can rely on both the products we sell and our fantastic aftersales support."

You will be able to meet SMC at the Natural Stone Show in London (ExCeL London, 25-27 April), where it will have machines from CMS Brembana and Montresor on show. In the meantime, you can check out the website or call the company on 01948 841574 for more information.