The re-structuring of the sales division at the Hove-based machine-tool specialist C Dugard Ltd (www.dugard.com) is now complete, with the company having added six new employees over the last 18 months.

The latest phase saw two more salesmen added in recent weeks to support the addition of new machine-tool brands to the company’s portfolio.

These include Kitamura machining centres, Hanwha sliding-head turning centres, collaborative robots (cobots), and large travelling-column machines from Ibarmia.

Peter Tilsed has been taken on as the new area sales manager for the South West and Wales.

He joined the company in March, soon after the appointment of Kevin Searl as the new area sales manager for East Anglia and the Home Counties.

With 40 years in manufacturing, Mr Searl started as an apprentice tool maker in 1980, progressing through the machine shop before working as a production engineer at Marconi Aerospace.

More recently, he has worked as a consultant, area sales manager and product manager for some of the most prestigious brands in the machine-tool, cutting-tool and ancillary-equipment markets.

Meanwhile, Mr Tilsed started his career in a sub-contract machine shop in the early 1980s, progressing from the shopfloor to production engineering and management roles.

For more than 20 years, he has been a successful field sales engineer for some of the world’s most prestigious cutting-tool brands.

Commenting on the company’s recent developments, managing director Eric Dugard said: “We have added world-class brands to our portfolio, and the sales of these high-quality machines will rest firmly on the shoulders of our new team.

“We are confident that our new sales engineers have the right blend of industry expertise and local market insight to really drive the advantages of the Dugard brand into manufacturing facilities the length and breadth of the UK.”