Broadbent Stanley Ltd, Halifax (www.broadbentstanley.co.uk), and the Czechia-based Fermat Group have signed an agency agreement that gives the UK heavy-duty machine tool specialist exclusive rights to the full range of Fermat’s large-capacity horizontal floor and table mills, as well as its range of grinding machines.

Fermat’s heavy-duty horizontal boring machines range from 1,200 to 28,100mm in the X axis and up to 6,000mm in the Y axis.

The addition of the company’s indexable and contouring heads, together with rotary and bespoke tables, further enhances flexibility.

Similarly, its grinding machines provide ‘extensive capacity’, with between-centre distances up to 6,000mm and an ability to grind parts weighing up to 5,000kg.

Broadbent Stanley will be focusing its sales activity for the Fermat product range on applications in the oil and gas, rail, power generation, marine and yellow-goods sectors.

Prague-based Fermat’s roots go back to 1901 (Broadbent Stanley’s to 1870), and it currently employs over 600 people at five manufacturing sites.

The company manufactures 95% of the component parts of its machine in-house; it also provides a rebuild and retrofit service to customers looking to update existing machines.

Graham Thomas, managing director of Broadbent Stanley, said: “We are excited at the prospect of working with Fermat, as the addition of these products to the Broadbent Stanley portfolio means that we are the only company offering European-built heavy-duty large-capacity mills and grinders in the UK and Ireland.”