Kappaun will have responsibility for the strategic direction in home textiles, clothing and accessories and will be the connecting link to the manufacturer’s large-format segment.

Kappaun is a member of Durst’s executive team and heads the ink business for all segments as executive vice-president of inks and fluids.

A technical chemist with a focus on polymer science and a trained business economist, Durst said he is an expert in materials science and the development and marketing of ink systems for digital inkjet printing.

“The digital textile printing market is fragmented in itself and we see different speeds and developments worldwide,” said Kappaun.

“While new, non-industry service providers often already have digital knowhow but less textile experience, the traditional manufacturers are masters of textile finishing, but not all analogue processing steps can be transferred directly to digital textile printing.

“Durst has a comprehensive eco-system to serve the different requirements and to support customers in the digital transformation. Our printing systems are designed for industrial productivity, but also offer profitability from the very first metre.

“The prerequisite for this is mastery of the pre-treatment and post-treatment steps as well as the digital workflow, in which Durst focuses on the consulting and training services in the new Customer Experience Centre at the Durst headquarters in Brixen.”

Kappaun succeeds Martin Winkler, who will take on the role of global sales manager for textiles printing in the future.

His team will also be supplemented by experienced service technician Martin Oberparleitner, as the new junior product manager for textiles printing. New sales and service structures are also being implemented in the core markets.