XYZ Machine Tools, Burlescombe (www.xyzmachinetools.com), which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, has just reported record-breaking sales of £25 million for its 2013/2014 financial year. The results were helped by the introduction of new machine models, the continued improvement in the UK’s manufacturing economy, and an increase in exports to mainland Europe.

XYZ’s managing director, Nigel Atherton, said: “These record sales figures come on the back of three years of solid growth for us. We are also encouraged by the signs that the UK economy is continuing to grow and that manufacturing is playing an important role in this growth. Customers are recognising the need to invest in new machine tools in order to strengthen their competitive edge through increased machine efficiency.

"Many of the machines being ordered are held in stock at our headquarters in Devon, and we are in a very strong position to continue our current trend of year-on-year growth.”

European Sales represented about 12% of total turnover for XYZ in the last year and this is an area that the company recognises as a major source for sales growth in the coming years. XYZ’s export sales manager, Andrew Kilshaw, is developing the company’s existing network of 16 distributors, and aims to have a Tier One distributor in every country in Europe before the end of the year.

These distributors will have a dedicated showroom and a product manager/sales manager focusing on the sales of XYZ machines.