Gilmore, who began his career at FFEI forebear Crosfield Electronics, is joined by fellow new-starter Denise Murphy, who has been appointed marketing communications manager.

Andy Cook, managing director of FFEI, said that the two hirings were needed to help "reposition the company from a marketing standpoint" ahead of next year's Drupa exhibition in Dusseldorf, Germany.

"We're increasing our budget and spend in our marketing activities," said Cook. "It's about increasing awareness of FFEI in the industry."

The Hertfordshire-based manufacturer has built its business through a combination of OEM partnerships, most notably with Fujifilm on its XMF workflow and Luxel violet CTP range, and own brand products, including RealVue 3D and RealPro 3D-Packager.

Cook added that the recruitment of Gilmore to drive FFEI's overall workflow strategy for commercial print and packaging was indicative of the company's growth ambitions.

"We are starting to reposition ourselves both in our software and our corporate positioning," he said. "We are looking to expand our partnerships - primarily in software products - and we've got a couple of negotiations on that I'm hoping will conclude in new partnerships."

Gilmore, who has also worked at Quantel, Turning Point Technologies and Colourbus, said: "I have a strong and agile team with both deep experience and young blood. Their expertise will help create and fulfil the many opportunities that we have with products such as RealPro 3D Packager.

"We will also be harnessing this expertise to look for ways in which our software can benefit customers either as a standalone product or by integrating our routines into our partner's solutions."

Murphy, who has more than a decade's experience marketing pre-press and print products, including workflow software, output engines and inks, described FFEI as "one of the industry's best-kept secrets" due to its historical strength as a technology partner rather than a direct supplier to the print industry.

"Being technology drivers for such a diverse range of leading brands such as Fujifilm, Nilpeter, Technova, and Leica Microsytems presents a challenge in communicating brand value to the end user," she said.

"This brand value is key for our future go-to-market strategy, especially for our software products."