Business - Appointments

As part of its continuing growth strategy, wide-format distribution specialist IGS UK has appointed seasoned industry professional Christian Legueu to augment the company’s technical and marketing support within mainland Europe and further afield. Specialising in business development consultancy as well benefiting from a deep level of expertise in hardware and software, Legueu’s experience will play an important role in the distribution of the Maidenhead based company’s expanding portfolio of ink-jet related products and services.

Formerly sales and marketing director at Seiko Instruments Europe, Legueu’s work involved establishing sales, administration and technical support channels. Earlier, he was sales manager for Encad and was in charge of Italy, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Prior to that he was involved in the distribution of a range of related digital products, including those from Xerox.

“Moving to a lively, pro-active company which has deep-rooted and unrivalled knowledge of the wide-format digital print market is exactly the right solution for me,” states Legueu. “This is a exciting challenge for me; to join a thriving distributor with an impressive product range means that my industry experience will be put to the best possible use.”

Nick Wintle, managing director of IGS UK adds: “Christian’s competencies in all areas of sales, marketing and business development, plus his hardware and software technical expertise, will bring huge value to us. The timing of this appointment couldn’t be better as we are currently under heavy demand from potential distributors and resellers throughout the world who want to be associated with IGS UK’s expanding portfolio of wide-format ink-jet products.”

IGS UK is exhibiting at FESPA for the first time this year where it will be concentrating on its innovative Elements product family. This includes environmentally-friendly and sensibly priced printers, matched media and RIP solutions.

Gary Rudnick has been promoted to Director of Sales at Mutoh America Inc., a worldwide leader and manufacturer of large format commercial inkjet printers. Rudnick has worked for Mutoh for over 3 years as the Product Marketing Manager before being promoted to Director of Sales.

As the Director of Sales, Rudnick will oversee all sales territories in North America. Working closely with the General Manager, Brian Phipps, and the regional managers and sales engineers, Rudnick will seek to expand Mutoh's sales into new emerging markets as well as managing and building new business opportunities throughout North America. Rudnick will use his past experience to support business operations while coordinating Mutoh's customer satisfaction strategy.

Before working at Mutoh, Rudnick held several positions at Fuji from 1991 to 2006 including Western Sales Manager and National Vertical Markets Manager where he was responsible for sales and managing a team of Regional Managers. His experience, coupled with his success at these previous positions should help continue the growth Mutoh has seen over the last several years.

"I look forward to helping Mutoh continue to gain market share and build new lasting business relationships with my new role as Director of Sales," asserts Rudnick.

Brian Phipps has been promoted to General Manager of Mutoh America Inc. He was previously Director of Sales for Mutoh and has been with the company for more than 5 years.

As the General Manager, Phipps will oversee the day-to-day operations and is responsible for directing and managing administrative and operational functions to ensure that corporate goals and objectives are met in accordance with priorities, time limitations and funding.

Phipps has a broad range of leadership management, operations, finance, sales and project management experience. He has been involved in the wide format industry for over 15 years.  As Director of Sales for MUTOH over the past couple years, he efficiently handled multiple responsibilities to help streamline processes and grow and expand sales in the North American market.

Prior to joining Mutoh America in December of 2004, Phipps held a position as Director of Sales for a fortune 500 company.  He led operations including development of administrative, sales, and operational processes, the development and execution of multiple marketing and sales campaigns that consistently exceeded company sales expectations.

"Mutoh America is a strong company and has been gaining market share for the past several years.  We have a great team of employees here and I look forward to ensuring that business continues to grow and operations run efficiently. I will work closely with our valued customers, partners and suppliers to build strong relationships for future success in my new role as General Manager," asserts Phipps.

As brand managers develop new ways to increase sales and gain market share in the tough economic market, they are turning to large format digital printing to create impact and deliver timely, targeted campaigns.

With this in mind, HP has strengthened its Iberian team in order to meet PSPs' requirements for printers that deliver the innovative applications demanded by their customers. New HP printers, such as those using HP Latex Inks or the HP Scitex FB7500, which targets traditional screen-printing applications, are helping both PSPs and their customers develop new business opportunities.

The new sign and display team comprises:

Cristobal Macedo, who joins as HP Scitex regional manager for Iberia, as well as Encarna Luque, who will supply PSPs with all their after sales support. Victor Ortiz  Rafael Godino, Esteban Mogas and Carlos Coelho (Portugal) continue in a sales capacity with Eduard Simo as channel manager, while Luis Christophe continues in his marketing role. Additionally, four new field engineers under the guidance of Mariano Monjas have joined the team in order to provide an on-demand service to PSPs. They are; Cristobal Aragon Francisco Lopez, Andrea Benvenuto and Frank Maus (Portugal) and will offer PSPs a faster and more efficient service in SPain and Portugal.

SA International (SAi), the leading provider of Solutions for the Professional Sign Making, Digital Printing and CAD/CAM for CNC Machining Industries, appoints Lloyd Cundiff to Senior Software Engineer.

As the economy turns a corner, SAi meets a mounting demand for new development of our software products. Lloyd will work on development for Flexi and PhotoPRINT, as well as some of our custom OEM products.

Lloyd joins SAi with more than 10 years experience in developing software solutions for digital signage and large-format digital printing. He spent a number of years managing software engineering and new product development at Onyx Graphics. More recently, Lloyd founded ArtSoft solutions where he developed software for digital display networks and Web 2.0 solutions for digital print. In these capacities, Lloyd has contributed to numerous software releases and innovations within the industry.

“We’re thrilled to add Lloyd to our engineering team,” states Don Feagan, President and COO, SAi. “His extensive experience in software development for the signmaking industry is an invaluable asset for us, especially in this time of growth.”

 

With more than 500 franchises worldwide offering a complete range of custom signs and graphics products, the choice of printer and supplier is of paramount importance to the sign industry’s leading franchise, FASTSIGNS®. The company regularly reviews and tests the latest technology to make sure it offers the best possible solutions to its customers and for its franchisees.

Recently, FASTSIGNS International selected the Mimaki JV33 as its chosen solvent printer and in the UK, FASTSIGNS® has selected Graphic Printing Technologies (GPT) to supply and support them.

An international company based in the US, FASTSIGNS has 21 centres in the UK, and while each one operates as a standalone business, they are all capable of delivering a complete range of graphics and display printing services. “We insist that large format printing is in place as part of each franchise’s initial setup,” says Garth Allison, Managing Director for FASTSIGNS® UK. He adds, “This means we can fulfil our core objective from each franchise, which is to provide a complete one-stop-shop for local and national businesses.”

Solvent printing is a key component of this delivery and the selection of the Mimaki JV33 as the solvent printer of choice was made after exhaustive testing in the US. “We are happy to take on the recommendations of the US as they are looking to fulfil all the criteria we need for delivering comprehensive printing solutions. The Mimaki JV33, together with the Mimaki cutting plotter provides a hugely versatile, reliable and cost-effective system, which is proving hugely successful at franchises across the UK and the world,” says Garth Allison.

As well as selecting the printing solutions for its franchisees, FASTSIGNS® wants to ensure reliable and consistent delivery, installation, training and support. To provide this, the company has turned to Slough-based GPT. Allison explains, “I have worked with Stuart Cole [GPT’s Managing Director] for more than five years and have always had an excellent relationship based on mutual trust. When he started GPT it was a very easy decision for us to make to work with the new organisation on the basis that they continued to provide high levels of support and after-sales care. I am delighted to say this has been the case.”