Kicking off our 2018 Team Spotlight, we chat with Haydn Brown, Queensland Laser Sales.

With a trade certificate as a fitter and turner and Diploma in Engineering, Haydn has been a great asset to the Alfex team since he started in 2011. Originally starting as a Haas service technician, Haydn was introduced to the laser division and continued to work as a technician under both our CNC machine tool and laser divisions. Having developed great relationships with customers across Queensland, Haydn got into sales 3 years ago.

How long have you been at Alfex CNC Australia? 7 years in July

What did you do before joining the Alfex team?  I was a fitter and turner at one of our customers, Crown Engineering. It’s also where I did my apprenticeship. When I was working at Crown Engineering, I worked alongside some of the Alfex technicians, and I got along with them really well. I applied through them and got the job!

How would you describe Alfex in 3 words? Successful, reliable… and a fun working environment. Not exactly 3 words…

What’s the best thing to happen since you started working with Alfex? That would be my trip to America in 2013 for my Haas certification. It was the best experience which I’ll always remember. The Haas factory is in Oxnard California, and I was there with Darcy and we just had the best time.

What do you wish other people knew about Alfex or the laser industry?We are getting the word out more and more but it’s crucial that people are aware of the support we have from the factories and the resources the service team is exposed to.  It really helps us service customers, especially with repairs jobs, not many other suppliers have the resources that we do. When customers come to us with a challenging problem, we can offer something others can’t.  I think its important people know that Alfex is a family owned business, not only are we big enough to service the entire country, but we’re also small enough to speak with people one on one.

What are you passionate about? I’m really passionate about spending time with my family and my children. We just love going out on the water or camping. We have a special family camping sport down in Northern NSW which is really special to us, we go there as much as we can – we’ve made some great memories down there.

What’s your jam? I like the oldies!  How old? Like Darryl Braithwaite and John Farnham – we’re going to see them in concert soon! I like Cold Chisel, Jimmy Barnes, too.

Last movie you watched? We just watched the Bright, it’s a new Will Smith movie.

What’s your favourite place in the world to visit? I’ve lived in a lot of countries, growing up we followed my dad’s work and lived in England, then Papua New Guinea, then the Philippines. But my favourite place to travel is definitely Frazer Island.

Have you ever won anything? Have you ever won anything? I win nothing! My wife is competition obsessed and wins 5 things a week! She enters competitions all the time and wins a lot of adventure stuff.  She’s won paintballing, scenic flight tours, weekend holidays down at the Gold Coast… she’s always winning something!

If you were to tell one person “Thank You” for helping me become the person I am today, who would it be and what did they do? So many people have helped me become who I am today, I couldn’t pick just one. Definitely my parents and my wife. And definitely George and Maryanne (owners of Alfex CNC Australia and HFO Australia) for the opportunity.