Business - Appointments

Exclusive UK and Irish Mimaki distributor Hybrid Services Ltd has announced the appointment of Stephen Woodall to the role of National Sales Manager – Textile and Apparel. Woodall’s position completes Hybrid’s sales management team across its core product ranges as he sits alongside John de la Roche and Stuart Cole – National Sales Managers for Sign & Graphics and Industrial products respectively.

“Textile printing remains a major area of development and a continued focus for Mimaki, so Stephen's appointment is central to Hybrid's commitment to assisting our combined growth in this exciting market,” says director, Peter Mitchell. “We are thrilled to have Stephen joining the Hybrid team, as he brings with him a wealth of knowledge in both sales management and the textile industry and is already familiar with the Mimaki textile line-up. His in-depth knowledge of textile inks, their applications and the various printing techniques makes him ideally placed to drive forward this exciting area of development.”

The recent launch of the Mimaki TS300P-1800 dye-sublimation printer indicates continued commitment to developing attractive textile solutions for the apparel and display graphics sectors and Woodall relishes the prospect. “Mimaki’s textile heritage was a major attraction to the role and I look forward to working with our specialist textile resellers to present products like the TS300P to customers old and new.”

Mimaki’s complete textile and apparel range can be found at www.hybridservices.co.uk.

Bringing with him 25 years of industry experience and sales expertise, Roland DG is delighted to announce that Darren Penny has been appointed the new Head of Sales for Roland DG UK, following on from Brett Newman’s well deserved promotion to Managing Director.

Previously holding a variety of management roles at Paperlinx, Darren’s career change towards the machinery side of the industry was an easy choice. Says Darren Penny, “I look forward to immersing myself in the creative and innovative environment that Roland DG affords its staff, and relish the chance to establish myself with a market leader that is not only successful but devoted to the print industry.”

Previously established at Paperlinx as General Manager for the South West, Darren has a great deal of unique and exciting experience and knowledge spanning his career so far, making him an ideal fit and great addition to the Roland DG family.

Says Brett Newman, “Darren’s wealth of experience and unparalleled perspective on the print industry – as well as his keen attitude – makes him a fantastic addition to our team, and will play a key role in contributing to Roland DG’s bright future.”

As Head of Sales, Darren will be responsible not only for Roland DG’s brim-full product portfolio alongside the sales team, but also for the highly successful RolandCare, the famous Creative Centre and the renowned Roland DG Academy, enabling him to dip his toe into the more creative side of the business.

Continues Darren: “Getting to be involved with the innovative and inspired things Roland DG engages in is a real bonus for me, and allows me to not only have a better understanding of our fantastic Dealer network through our sales and Academy team but also the end user themselves, and how they perceive Roland DG.

I’ve come into the company at a particularly exciting time, with a sensational release line-up for this period and beyond to keep up with the incredible demand and tremendous growth Roland DG have been experiencing in the last couple of years.”

Concludes Mr Newman: “As you can imagine, we’re more than happy to extend a warm welcome to Darren and look forward to seeing everything he will bring to our company.”

Papergraphics has boosted its management team with the appointment of Michelle Dellow, who will be joining the company as Product Manager.  The appointment by Papergraphics emphasises the company’s effort to pursue exciting design opportunities and remain a frontrunner in bespoke printing solutions.     

In her new role, Michelle will head up the development and design of market leading products that allow customers to expand in new sectors. Overseeing this, and bringing products from inception to market will form a key part of Michelle’s role which will see her use her experience to analyse current market trends enabling Papergraphics to remain at the forefront in bespoke wide-format printing.   

Michelle brings with her a wealth of expertise in Product Management, and joins from Muraspec Wallcoverings where she was responsible for coordinating products across Europe and the Middle East.  

Commenting on her appointment, Michelle said: “I am very pleased to be joining the team at Papergraphics and am excited by the creative ambition of the company.  I believe working with Papergraphics will give me the opportunity to explore new creative avenues, with a focus on satisfying the demands of the customer.”  

Nathan Atkins, Managing Director at Papergraphics added: “We’re confident that Michelle’s appointment will help drive the business and bring exciting new products to market. We’re keen to push the boundaries of innovation and surpass the expectations of our customers and we believe Michelle is well placed to help us do this.”

For more information on Papergraphics, please visit www.paper-graphics.com.

Antalis Packaging has announced the appointment of Rebecca Tunstall to the position of Marketing Manager. Based at the Company’s headquarters facility in Coalville, Leicestershire, Rebecca will work alongside the sales and development teams to implement communications strategies and tactical cross-channel campaigns to support the business’s drive for continued growth.

With over seven years of multi-channel marketing experience, including a role at Clifton Packaging, Rebecca joins Antalis Packaging from Develop Training, where she latterly held the position of Marketing Manager. While at Develop Training, Rebecca was instrumental in promoting the corporate brand identity into the utilities and facilities management sectors.

Commenting on her new role, Rebecca says: “It’s a very exciting time to be joining Antalis Packaging, in light of the recent growth of the business. I’m looking forward to working alongside the sales and senior management teams to introduce new initiatives and targeted campaigns to help support them in their commitment to grow the business further.”

Leigh Gracie, Customer Marketing Director at Antalis adds: “Following a series of acquisitions and expansions for the Antalis Group in recent months, we are very much committed to supporting and driving our packaging solutions business forward. Having Rebecca joining as a dedicated marketing manager for our packaging operation demonstrates clearly our commitment to the Antalis Packaging brand to ensure we promote our considerable wealth of expertise in providing complete protective packaging solutions supported by our nationwide distribution facilities.”

Rebecca is a graduate of De Montfort University, Leicester, where she obtained a first-class honours degree in Marketing and Marketing Management.

For further information about Antalis Packaging, visit www.antalispackaging.co.uk.

Xaar says it is targeting growth in manufacturing applications with the appointment of Keith Smith to the new role of Director of Advanced Manufacturing.

Keith, who is based in the USA and reports directly to Xaar CEO Doug Edwards, is responsible for identifying and developing strategic advanced manufacturing opportunities and partnerships outside Xaar’s established markets.  He joins Xaar from Chinese touch sensor manufacturer Token ITO, and has 16 years’ experience in direct and channel sales management and selling B2B solutions to Fortune 500 companies.  His appointment marks a return to Xaar, having been Sales Manager for North and South America from 2002-05.

“I’m excited and delighted to be returning to Xaar in this new position which recognises the huge opportunities for our technology in advanced manufacturing applications,” says Keith. “In particular, there are exciting possibilities in the touch sensor display sector as consumer electronics manufacturers look to reduce costs as well as increase touch-screen functionality.  Interest in inkjet is also high in semiconductors, production 3D printing, and robotic coating applications within automotive and aerospace manufacturing.”

“We are fortunate to have recruited Keith into this important new role in Xaar,” says Doug Edwards.  “He brings the ideal combination of in-depth knowledge of key growth markets for Xaar technology and global sales experience in B2B technology in China, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and North and South America.  As an ex-Xaar employee, it’s also good to welcome him back!”

In a 'significant' strengthening of its presence in the North American and Latin American markets, Xaar has appointed Don Whaley as Director of Sales, Xaar Americas.  In addition, the company has opened a new sales and support office in Texas.

Don Whaley joins Xaar from Piksel Inc, the leading provider of SaaS-based video platforms, where he was Vice President, Global Channels.  He has also held a variety of senior sales management, business development and marketing positions with The Wind Group and Kodak.

The new Sales and Customer support office is housed in purpose-designed premises in Grand Prairie, Texas, close to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.  The facility provides training and demonstration suites and engineering support for Xaar customers in the USA, Canada and Latin America.

“This is a great time to join Xaar,” says Don Whaley.  “There are big opportunities to extend the penetration of the company’s market-leading inkjet technologies in the graphics, packaging and industrial imaging markets throughout the region.  It’s my role to realise the potential, and I’m hugely excited at the prospect.  The resources of the new Texas office, just a few minutes from the airport, are a big advantage and we expect the training and demonstration facilities to be busy with customers and prospects.”

“We’re delighted to secure Don Whaley to spearhead our drive into the American markets,” says Richard Barham, Xaar’s Chief Customer Officer.  “He has a superb track record of driving growth with global technology companies, and his packaging and graphics industry knowledge, experience and enthusiasm will be a huge asset for us in these important markets.”