Martin Barlow
Martin Barlow
Keywords Obituary, Barlow
The surface engineering industry has lost another of its great characters with the sudden death on July 13 of Martin Barlow, aged 50, managing director of Process Equipment Ltd, Aylesbury.
Martin was educated at Aylesbury Grammar. After leaving school he worked for agricultural engineers New Holland before moving to Lancer Boss (now Boss Trucks) in Leighton Buzzard. He moved into the world of metal finishing when he joined the old Electroloid company in Aylesbury where he worked until 1983 when he left to work as sales manager with Veratronic Ltd also in Aylesbury.
Over the next decade he was to travel the world putting Veratronic firmly on the map, particularly in the PCB industry, through his personal visits setting up agents in India, Hong Kong and the USA as well as through many industry exhibitions. As the PCB market changed, Martin was able to call on his metal finishing skills helping the company win major contracts worldwide.
Following the demise of Veratronic in 1993, Martin set up his own company,Process Equipment Ltd, in May 1994 on the same site as the old business. He worked tirelessly to ensure that the Pro-Quip brand name became synonymous with high quality metal finishing equipment. Martin was one of the founder members of the Circuit Equipment & Materials Association (CEMA) and was appointed chairman at the time of the Association's inaugural exhibition at the NEC in 1988. He played an active role in the development of CEMA, serving on the management committee for ten years, latterly as treasurer, until he resigned through pressure of work in 1998.
Developments within the industry and hisown business meant that Martin was able to devote less time to his charitable work and to his hobby of ornithology. Over the last five years he saw his company grow both in business and in reputation, mainly through his personal efforts, resulting in plating lines for places as far apart as Australia and the USA. His most recent major success was the installation of a $7.2 million barrel plating line (thought to be the world's largest) at the Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg.
A great many in the surface engineering industry and its suppliers will know Martin Barlow as a true character. He had that innate ability to turn every meeting, every event, every meal into an occasion to remember not just in the UK but across the globe. There have been many warm tributes from across the industry but most have been quick to point out Martin's love of entertaining those around him wherever he was. Martin was always straight, hard working,dedicated, supportive – one of his former colleagues called him the professional's professional.
Following a heart attack at the beginning of July, Martin had just returned home from hospital when he suffered a second and fatal attack. He was cremated at Oxford following a short, but moving, service attended by his family and many close friends from the industry.
Stewart Hildred
