Worcester-based
www.mazak.com Yamazaki Mazak UK Ltd has provided a confident update on the UK’s sub-contract market as the machine tool industry gears up for MACH 206, taking place at the NEC, Birmingham from 20-24 April. Describing the sub-contract market in early 2026 as ‘very positive’, the company has already seen an uptick in enquiries this year.
Alan Mucklow, managing director UK and National Distributors at Yamazaki Mazak, says that many sub-contractors are now ready to invest. We are seeing very positive levels of enquiries since the New Year, particularly from the sub-contractor market, which is one of the cores of our business.
“2025 was subdued for sub-contract manufacturers, but the combination of increased economic certainty following the Budget in November, and a sense that investment decisions can’t be delayed any longer, has led to renewed activity in the market. There is business to be won and, in order to win, subcontractors recognise the need to have the most advanced manufacturing technology.”
The strong first-quarter performance has been driven in large part by Mazak’s UK-built machine range. He continued: “The investment we made in developing our UK-built machines at our European Manufacturing Plant in Worcester, models such as the CV5-500 and the CV5-700, is now paying off — UK manufacturers want to buy British when they can.”
Mr Mucklow specifically cites the strong interest shown in the Integrex j-series machines that will be one of the highlights on the company’s stand at MACH 2026. “The Integrex j-200 NEO is the first time a multi-tasking machine has been manufactured outside of Japan and there is a lot of interest from UK manufacturers looking to upgrade their machining capabilities. For UK customers, there is a comfort factor in knowing that a machine is built, commissioned and serviced by trained technicians on the ground who really know the machine inside out.
“We have also continued to invest in aftersales service and application support, which is becoming more and more important for customers. We believe that Mazak now has the most comprehensive and strongest service and support offering available to UK machine users.”
Jason Butler, UK sales director at Yamazaki Mazak, says further strengthening of the UK sales team has also helped fuel the strong start to the year. “We have brought some new faces into our northern sales team, which is now at full strength. Ryan Smith has joined as our new general sales manager for the northern region, bringing an enormous amount of knowledge and experience built up over many years. Paul Collinson, a well-established name in machining, has also joined the Mazak team, bringing real knowledge of the market in the North East of England.”
He concluded: “Looking ahead, we are set to showcase the very latest in machine tools and smart automation systems to connected technologies at MACH. I would encourage all interested parties in attendance to come and visit the Mazak stand to discover more about our complete offering across the manufacturing ecosystem.”