The new zone groups the UK and Ireland with Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland as the regions are seen to have a more common culture and more shared language than those in the original group.

Previously, there were three business zones, with France and Benelux paired with the UK and Scandinavia. France and Benelux are understood to have been regrouped with other Latin countries as the UK and Scandinavia becomes a zone in its own right.

Moran was sales manager for the countries in the new northwest Europe region prior to his new role, and he will now report directly to head of sales for sheet fed Emilio Corti.

Moran said: "Over the past couple of years we have transformed the way we do business, working even more closely and openly with our customers, with the aim of helping them develop their businesses as far as possible.

"My objective now is that we should continue that transformation, redoubling our efforts to help customers squeeze every drop of benefit out of their investments, whether we do that by providing extra equipment, new services, or plain, old-fashioned customer support."

Meanwhile, Bobst’s Redditch team has relocated within the town to larger premises to include a new ‘Competence Centre’ to act as a training and advice hub for customers.

Office staff began moving into the new building at the end of October last year and the expanded training centre is expected to be fully operational by April 2013. Bobst has retained a small section of the original building for spare parts storage.

Moran said: "We believe that the outlook for the zone, and the UK in particular, is very positive, which is why we are investing in providing more and better services for our customers. Just like our customers are finding with their own clients, growth comes from developing ways to add value."