Mazak appoints new sales manager for the South West

Retiring Tim Pointer (right) hands over the reigns to James Fell

Worcester-based Yamazaki Mazak UK Ltd has appointed James Fell as its new area sales manager for South West England. He will take over from Tim Ponter, who is retiring after more than 30 years’ service at the company and nearly 50 years in the manufacturing industry in total.

Mr Fell brings with him a wealth of experience in the machine tool industry, having trained as a CNC programmer and technical sales engineer before moving into business development roles. In his new position, he will assume responsibility for Mazak’s broad range of customers throughout the South West, with a particular focus on the region’s burgeoning sub-contract manufacturing scene.

Jason Butler, sales director at Yamazaki Mazak UK, said: “It has been a pleasure to work so closely with Tim over the years and it is hard to put into words what he has achieved during three decades of service here at Mazak. We wish him all the very best with his retirement, however in James, we have a very capable sales professional who knows both the industry and the South West region exceptionally well.”

Mr Fell added: “Early on in my career, I was fortunate enough to attend a programming course at Mazak and hoped to one day work for the company. The manufacturing community in the South West of England is thriving and given the breadth of Mazak’s portfolio, with a machine tool for every application and every price point, it is a very exciting time to join the company. I would also like to thank Tim for the valuable insights he has shared in our short time working together before his retirement, and wish him all the best for the future.”