Steve Haddrell, key account manager at Unison Ltd, has now been appointed as sales director of sister company, Nukon Lasers UK. In addition to fulfilling his new role, Mr Haddrell will continue to support Unison’s tube-bending machinery customers in the Midlands and South. Nukon Lasers UK became the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for Nukon’s European-made sheet metal fibre laser and tube-cutting machines in the autumn of 2021.

Beginning his career in lasers as a supervisor at Nuneaton-based Subcon Laser Cutting Ltd in the late 1980s, Mr Haddrell moved to 600 Group’s laser division in 1998, where he worked in machine tool sales and applications. He then joined Yamazaki Mazak UK’s optonics division as general manager in 2004 before moving to Unison as key account manager in 2009.

He said: “It is probably fair to say that I have accrued more than my fair share of laser-cutting expertise over the years. I remember seeing laser-cut parts from some of the first commercial fibre laser machines in the late 1980s, when I was a foreman/fabricator in Birmingham. I was awe-struck by what those machines could achieve. Obviously, since then, laser cutting has advanced in leaps and bounds, with developments such as high-power fibre laser technology — like the 20kW nLIGHT model we showcased at EuroBLECH 2022.”

Talking about Unison’s desire to expand into laser cutting technologies, Mr Haddrell said: “For quite some time we had been looking to extend the Unison product range to include high-quality fibre lasers, as we believed they would be a natural fit with our all-electric Unison Breeze tube-bending machines. Short of building our own fibre-laser machines in-house, however, the challenge was to find an established fibre-laser product range that matched the uncompromising levels of reliability and build quality that Unison tube benders are renowned for.

He continued: “That wasn’t easy. But after considerable research and frequent reservations about machine quality or support, we finally met with Nukon, a European fibre-laser manufacturer. Quite apart from offering exceptionally well-made and price-accessible fibre laser machines - and having a fantastic manufacturing facility - the thing that impressed us most about the people at Nukon was their attitude to business.

“Just like Unison, they are committed to building superb machines that exceed customer expectations, and to providing outstanding levels of service and support. Since partnering with Nukon, we have sold their fibre-laser machines to manufacturing companies across the UK. The quality of the Nukon product is exceptional and customers have the added reassurance of support from our own Nukon-trained service teams. What’s more if you are one of my Unison tube bending customers, don’t worry – I’m still here to support you!”