Business - Appointments

Sihl Direct UK has appointed Craig Barker as its new logistics and technical manager.  Craig will be based in the Altrincham UK head office, where he will be responsible for the warehousing and order processing as well as pre- and post-sales technical support.

Craig has joined Sihl Direct UK following a period of time as a self-employed photographer. Prior to this he held several positions at Ilford, where his final position was as a systems technologist developing new digital products in the desktop and wide format Ilford product range, as well as handling systems and procedures to help manage the running of the business.

“Craig brings an awful lot of experience to our company,” says Ian Turnbull, Operations Director at Sihl Direct UK. “He has worked for years at the coal face of this industry, dealing with photographers and working extensively with photographic-specific products as well as display and POS media.”

Craig Barker adds, “I am really looking forward to the challenge of working at Sihl Direct and feel that I can bring a lot to the company. I am already familiar with many of the products and hope that I can be a real asset to the company and our customers, particularly with my specific photographic experience.”

Craig started on 1st May and his first task is to take over the responsibility of running the warehouse and distribution to supply the UK market quickly and efficiently. “New IT systems are in place and with orders coming in and good people joining us, Sihl Direct is already starting to establish itself as one of the leading media providers in the UK,” concludes Turnbull.

Richard Barham has joined Xaar in the role of sales and marketing director.

Richard joins Xaar from Agfa Graphics where he held a range of senior sales, marketing and management positions for over 25 years. Most recently, as vice president of Agfa’s Inkjet Division, he was responsible for driving growth, quadrupling turnover to over €150M and integrating a major acquisition.

“In the past, as an inkjet systems builder, I worked with many different printhead suppliers including Xaar; its future roadmap and the strength of the intellectual property (IP) and development team convinced me that this was a great team with a bright future.  This shows how strongly I believe in Xaar’s technology,” says Richard.

He continues, “It’s a great company with great technology and amazing IP. Xaar is undergoing rapid growth due to the capabilities and potential of its printheads. In addition to helping our partners build successful products for a range of graphics, packaging, ceramics, décor and coding and marking applications, we are actively investigating new market opportunities. This is an exciting time to be joining the organisation.”

Ian Dinwoodie, Chief Executive of Xaar, adds, “I am very pleased to welcome Richard to the Board. His extensive experience will help drive our continued expansion into new industrial inkjet markets.”

Hexacomb, a subsidiary of Boise Inc. and a manufacturer of paper-based packaging and graphic display boards, has appointed Scott Daniel as president of Hexacomb. 

“Scott’s demonstrated leadership and results-oriented approach are assets to our growing company,” said Robert A. Warren, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Boise Inc.

Daniel joined Hexacomb in 2005 as the vice president of operations. During the past seven years, he has been responsible for improving plant operations and profitability. The lean manufacturing practices that were implemented during his tenure resulted in a significant increase in operational efficiency.

Daniel also supported the company’s new product launches - including the Falconboard graphic display line - by effectively integrating new production into existing facilities in North America and Europe.

“Exceptional customer service and increasing our product reach into new market segments and geographies will continue to be Hexacomb’s priority,” said Daniel. “Hexacomb’s recent acquisition by Boise gives us access to a tremendous number of resources to help propel us forward. I look forward to working closely with both the Hexacomb and Boise teams to achieve our objectives.”

Hexacomb products are made with 100% paper (all natural, renewable virgin and post consumer recycled fibres) and engineered into a proprietary honeycomb configuration. The products offer superior printing surface and excellent strength for both packaging and printing applications. 

In addition to his experience in paper-based product manufacturing, Daniel spent 17 years in operations for a leading supplier of automotive interiors and consumer electronics.

He has a master of business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a bachelor of science in industrial engineering technology from the University of Dayton.

Mimaki has appointed Hisayuki Kobayashi as its new global President, effective late June 2012.  He will replace the current President, Mikio Noguchi, who will be retiring.  The decision was made at the Board of Directors' meeting held on 11th April 2012.

Mimaki has expanded globally in recent years, including the improvement of the sales promotion system in the emerging countries. In order to meet the requirements of these strong growth markets, Mimaki now aims to strengthen its marketing, cost competitiveness and production systems in the emerging countries.

Mimaki says it will also 'continue to focus on the further reinforcement of the management base by delegating authority to the top of its development and production business.'

Canon, world-leader in imaging solutions, today announced the appointment of Rokus van Iperen as the new President & CEO of Canon Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He becomes the first European to lead Canon’s business across the EMEA region, succeeding Ryoichi Bamba, who is retiring after four years in the role and 40 years with Canon.

Van Iperen takes over an organisation that delivers world leading imaging products and services to millions of consumers as well as business and medical customers throughout the EMEA region, and contributes the largest regional share of total revenues for Canon Inc. He moves to his new role from within the Canon Group, having served as Chairman & CEO of Océ N.V. since 1999. Océ N.V. was acquired by Canon Inc. in March 2010.

“I am honoured to be the first European to assume leadership of Canon’s business in the EMEA region,” said Rokus van Iperen, President & CEO, Canon Europe, Middle East and Africa. “I have always admired Canon for its world-class track record in innovation and strong business performance. After working closely with Canon over the last few years, I look forward to overseeing the integration of Canon and Océ in EMEA, and to driving continued business growth for Canon throughout the region.”

Van Iperen joined Océ in 1978. After several posts within R&D, he became responsible for the Printing Systems business unit in 1989. He served as Managing Director of Océ-Belgium N.V. from 1992 until being appointed to the Executive Board of Océ N.V. in 1995. Key achievements for Van Iperen at Océ N.V. include the acquisitions and subsequent integration of the Siemens Nixdorf Printing Division and Imagistics Inc. into the Océ organisation. He is a graduate in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Eindhoven.

Barcelona-based Poster and Panel (P&P), part of the IGEPA Group, has appointed JJ Hendriks as managing director. With immediate effect, JJ Hendriks will be responsible for the day to day business as well as the b2b export business. JJ will work closely with Enric Velasco - a well known and dedicated large format print (LFP) sales consultant for P&P.

In his new role, JJ will work in co-operation with IGEPA headquarters in Germany, as well as other subsidiaries of the IGEPA Group. He will report directly to Arne Kayser - member of IGEPAs' Partner Board and MD of VPH GmbH & Co KG, shareholding Partner of IGEPA Group.

JJ, who previously held the role of sales and export manager for LFP supplies at Fujifilm, will be based at Poster and Panel headquarters in Sallent near Barcelona, Spain.  He has over 18 years experience in the LFP industry where, amongst other senior roles, he served as sales director for Bedigital based in Spain. JJ was previously sales manager and director for UK-based SEAL lamination and Germany-bases ColorGATE.

"JJ is currently broadening our expertise of the fast growing LFP part of our business. We expect to strengthen our business in Germany, Europe and particularly in Spain, also with the help of Enric Velasco," comments Arne Kayser.

For more information on the IGEPA Group, please visit www.igepagroup.com

For more information on P&P, please visit www.posterandpanel.com