Master Abrasives – 50 years of m


Based in Daventry, Northants, Master Abrasives is celebrating its 50th Anniversary as a supplier of abrasives and grinding products to the UK, and latterly to a wider market in Europe and beyond. I was welcomed to


the premises by Paul Batson, Managing Director, and Abigail Charlton, Marketing Manager, to be given the full tour. Master Abrasives was


founded as part of a European Company and in 1972 was established on the present site, and although it has grown steadily and diversified over the years, the company has managed to stay in the same place by developing the site, building new facilities and using space creatively. There are distinctive areas of the buildings that are clearly designated for office space, manufacturing, demonstrating, training and marketing and the unhurried pace belies the amount of actual activity that is taking place. In many ways, the


facility is very well placed geographically, since it is within easy reach of the M1, and that gives quick access to both north and south. Since a management


buyout from the parent company a few years ago, the new owners have aimed to rationalise the business into four well- considered areas of activity. The first of these is on precision products, machining and grinding – a key area needed for manufacturing industries and an important market for Master Abrasives The second key area


is surface finishing, where the concentration is on carbide burrs, coated belts etc where engineering tolerances are not so much of an issue. Tool services is the


third area of the business. Here the import, sale, distribution and service and repair of air and electric tools is looked


Machine Area


after. The company is an agent for some Major brands like Metabo and ZIPP, and has therefore also become involved in training companies and users with machines and hand/arm vibration audits. The final area of the


Customer Service Team


business is a relatively recent one and involves importing Micromatic grinding machines from India. Paul has identified a gap in the UK market for less expensive and perhaps less complicated machines in less intensive areas of manufacturing. The Micromatic grinding machines have close to a 50% market share in India and have a proven track record in use there. Of course, all these


four areas require the relevant staff with the right skills at hand. The entire staff consists of only 38 people who must have a good working knowledge of the whole range of Master Abrasives’ activities, as well as a detailed knowledge of their own particular areas. Where possible and necessary, the company provides appropriate training, but sometimes a more detailed knowledge is required. Hence, the four external sales representatives all have an engineering background that helps them to select the right products for the clients they serve, as well as providing on-going support for development etc.


Paul was very keen


to stress the need for the company to retain its collective knowledge and experience of 50 years in the industry, as it is this that will guarantee that clients will continue to call on them for supplies as well as consulting them about future developments. So, for example, all


Tool Repair Technician 16 ToolBUSINESS+HIRE


of the Customer Service Team learn about the products that they have to deal with. They


www.toolbusiness.co.uk


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