Business - Appointments

Screen has appointed of Ipex Machinery (www.ipex.co.za) as a reseller for Screen’s Truepress Jet 520 continuous inkjet presses, its SX B2 digital sheet-fed press and range of wide-format UV printers in Southern Africa and Mauritius.

Ipex, with offices in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, is an established supplier to the commercial print sector offering sales, training and support services throughout Southern Africa. The partnership with Screen marks the company’s entry into the digital printing market and gives the company a complete portfolio of versatile inkjet products to meet a broad spectrum of applications and customer requirements.

“Screen is world-renowned and respected for the quality of its printing solutions. This partnership opens up new avenues for both Ipex and our customers” says Stephen Wood, Director, Ipex Machinery. ”We are excited about the potential that Screen’s award-winning print engines offer to both new and existing customers. The Screen Truepress Jet 520 continuous web press is the perfect solution for magazine, book and variable data direct mail printing - an application that has just started to grow in the region– making Ipex ideally placed to capitalise on the opportunity. Similarly, digital wide format printing offers tremendous scope and the Truepress Jet SX B2 sheet-fed press opens up new exciting personalised gifting opportunities.”

“Screen welcomes Ipex Machinery to our network of specialist resellers,” says Mark Sherman, Area Director, Screen Europe. “The company’s expertise, facilities and dedication to the delivery of outstanding customer service makes them an ideal channel partner to help strengthen Screen’s presence within the lucrative Southern African markets.”

[Image shows Stephen Wood, Ipex Machinery and Brian Filler, President, Screen Europe]

Avery Dennison Materials Group has appointed Jeroen Diderich vice president, global marketing. In this role, Diderich will be responsible for the business’s end user and converter marketing strategies, as well as product management across the Label and Packaging Materials and Graphics Solutions business segments.

Jeroen has more than 10 years experience with Avery Dennison. He led the Materials Group supply chain and operations organization in Europe beginning in 2003. Most recently, Jeroen served as vice president, sales for Materials Group Europe where he led the regional sales organisation to improve customer satisfaction, commercialise market-differentiating innovations and grow the business’s sales pipeline.

Diderich received his bachelor’s degree in marketing management from Hanze University of Applied Sciences and his master’s from Erasmus University Rotterdam. He will continue to be based in Leiden, The Netherlands.

Xaar has appointed Edmund Creutzmann as Chief Technical Officer, effective on 1st April.

Edmund has over 30 years’ digital printing R&D experience spanning LED,  electrophotographic and inkjet imaging technologies and, most recently, was Vice President, Printer Technology at Océ Printing System GmbH. As Chief Technical Officer, Edmund has overall responsibility for Xaar R&D and reports directly to Xaar CEO Ian Dinwoodie.

Edmund’s appointment, which followed a complex international search, is part of Xaar’s major investment in R&D and manufacturing. The company has invested over £40m in R&D alone over the last five years; in 2013 Xaar grew its R&D headcount by 64% to 133 employees and expanded its facility on the Cambridge Science Park by 50% to 4,459 square metres. In addition, Xaar continues to expand and streamline manufacturing and, by the end of this year, will have invested over £60m in its factory in Huntingdon UK, since it opened in 2006.

“Xaar’s innovative inkjet technologies are transforming digital printing and manufacturing processes on a global scale and we are evolving these technologies to deliver powerful new levels of flexibility and performance,” says Ian Dinwoodie. “Our R&D investment and effectiveness is fundamental to our future success and Edmund's appointment is a key enhancement of our leadership team. He has exactly the right depth and breadth of experience across multiple digital technologies that we need to direct our significantly enlarged R&D operation.”

“I am delighted to be joining Xaar and becoming part of its successful leadership team,” says Edmund Creutzmann. “Xaar is well on its way to a very successful future within the digital arena. I am proud to be bringing my digital experience to the company and look forward to making my contribution to Xaar’s future successes.”

The investment in R&D comes on the back of record 2013 revenues of £134m, 55% higher than in 2012, enabling Xaar to accelerate investment in new technology and new products.  This growth has been recognised with several industry awards, including the UK Tech Awards 2103 ‘Technology Growth Business of the Year’ and, this year, the PLC ‘Company of the Year’ Award’ and Business Weekly ‘Company of the Year’ Award.

Esko has appointed Chris Rogers as EMEA Business Development Manager for Structural Design. In this role, Chris will be responsible for expanding Esko's long-term success with ArtiosCAD, the world's leading structural packaging design software.

Chris brings a wealth of experience to his new role. Prior to joining Esko, he held the position of General Manager at Arden Software, a developer of packaging design and manufacturing process solutions. In that role, Chris was responsible for the general management of the company, including international sales, marketing, and product development. Prior to his role as General Manager, Chris served as Arden Software’s UK Sales Manager.

Stefan Meire, Esko's EMEA Director Software Sales, comments, “Since its introduction, ArtiosCAD software has been a tremendous success, giving over 16,000 packaging professionals around the world the tools they need to improve their processes and gain efficiencies. Now, as we seek to build on that success, we are delighted to welcome Chris to our organization. His industry knowledge and proven track record of success will enable us to expand our structural design business and the use of ArtiosCAD throughout the whole of Europe and particularly with brand owners.”

“As a professional who has been actively involved in the packaging industry for many years, I have long been well aware of the work being done by Esko, and the range of capabilities that ArtiosCAD brings to packaging professionals. I am pleased to be a part of this organisation, and I look forward to expanding the structural design business of Esko,” adds Chris Rogers.

Joseph X. Cushing, Executive Vice President at Cushing, has been named ReproMAX Chairman of the Board for 2014.  ReproMAX is dedicated to the evolution of wide format and digital printing technology, supporting a global membership of elite graphic imaging firms.

Joe brings over twenty-five years of printing experience to his role as Chairman.  “Joe brings a wealth of industry experience and knowledge to ReproMAX Corporation in his new position as Chairman of the Board,” said Rick Bosworth, President at ReproMAX. “As the world’s largest network of independent reprographers, ReproMAX depends on its strong tradition of innovative leadership.”

Cushing is one of the founding members of ReproMAX; Joe has served on the Board of Directors for four years.  In addition to ReproMAX contributions, Joe leads a team of Chicago print specialists who strive to improve the customer experience and wide format landscape.  Recent initiatives include a décor printing course in conjunction with HP and Adobe class on preparing design files at the Cushing-River North Office.

“ReproMAX offers immeasurable value to their member base and this appointment is a great honour,” said Joseph X. Cushing, Executive Vice President at Cushing. “I look forward to contributing to national and international efforts.”

Neschen has named Lars Woltermann as Head of Corporate Marketing.  In his new role, Lars is charged with pushing ahead with the brand's philosophy of "Quality and Innovation."

Bückeburg, Germany-based Neschen has only recently announced its new brand orientation: "Neschen develops, manufactures and sells top-quality coating solutions and has always been at the forefront of innovation drivers on the printing and advertising market," Lars Woltermann stresses. "I see my main task as clearly positioning the product lines with respect to competitors and consolidating our reputation on the world market for outstanding quality."

Woltermann started his career as an advertising manager at GRAMM in Düsseldorf, part of the renowned American advertising network GREY. Having graduated in Communication Studies and Political Science in Düsseldorf, his agency work saw him hold various leading domestic and international posts and he was also tasked with positioning premium brands such as Land Rover, Nissan, Sennheiser and Bayer.

In 2009, Lars Woltermann took over responsibility for marketing at Daihatsu Germany, focusing on the German, Belgian and Austrian markets. Before moving to Neschen, he ran his own marketing consultancy and was also active for the Social Democrat faction in the European Parliament.

To strengthen brand positioning worldwide, the branding expert is planning to implement a global brand and communication strategy. "We need to get away from the idea of many individual product brands: our new brand orientation is 'One brand, one voice'." At the same time, Neschen's new marketing boss is to intensify the development of the CRM programme in order to optimise customer communications in the long-term.