Waters Group, which has sold Thibaut stone processing machines in the UK for 30 years, is no longer representing the French manufacturer.

Nicola Waters, the Managing Director of the Waters Group, says her family’s company reached the unanimous decision on 5 January and on 6 January contacted customers to inform them of the development.

Waters Group says it stands by the quality of the Thibaut machines it has sold to date and will always support its customers. Nicola says there was a difference of opinion between Waters Group and Thibaut about the way forward, leading Waters Group to make the proactive commercial decision to part company with Thibaut.

“We were really happy with our k750,000 of Thibaut machine sales for 2014 and we already had orders penciled in for 2015. We have just had our best year ever and everything is in place to do the same this year. After great consideration of the changes Thibaut proposed to our working relationship we just didn’t see it necessary to have to sell Thibaut machines to continue our positive growth.”

In the email to customers Nicola said: “We are writing to let you know that a commercial decision has been made by Waters Group to end our long standing machinery sales relationship with Thibaut.”

She assured them that the Waters Group level of service would be unchanged. “Going forward you will still be able to ask us for Thibaut parts or you can, of course, choose to contact the Thibaut service department direct.

“All other areas of business remain unchanged and we look forward to continuing to grow in line with what you, our customers, need and want.”

Waters Group continues to offer the Cobalm range of CNC saws and workcentres (the agency for which it took on in August last year), Flow waterjet cutters, Montressor edge polishers and Martini Aeroimpianti water treatment and dust suppression plant, as well as the tools and consumables it has always sold.

The most popular of the Thibaut machines in the UK has been the T108 polisher that evolved from the original jenny lind made after World War II, which was how Thibaut began. Waters sold more than 170 of them in the UK and Ireland over the years as well as around 100 other Thibaut machines.

Jacques Thibaut, the Managing Director of the machinery manufacturer, says the split with Waters comes as a result of strategies over the sale and service of machinery in the United Kingdom having drifted apart over several years.

Thibaut assures its UK customers they can count on its full support. For parts and technical support, call Customer Services on 0033 2 31 66 68 03 or email ukinfo@thibaut.fr. There are 14 people available every day for technical support, tooling, expertise and shipping of parts.

For any other enquiries, including sales, Stephane Couteaud, Thibaut’s Area Sales Manager who has been overseeing the UK market for the past two years, is available at 0033 627 198 184 or scouteaud@thibaut.fr.

If you want to meet the Thibaut team and see its latest machinery developments, the company is having open days at its factory in Vire, France, on 27 and 28 March. And both Thibaut and the Waters Group will be exhibiting at the Natural Stone Show at ExCeL London 28-30 April – only this time they will have separate stands.