Edwards, who has worked in the print industry on both the production and supplies side for 31 years, has joined from De La Rue, where he was an intaglio currency printer.

He has also printed newspapers, books, navigational charts and cartons at past companies and once sold consumables for Pershke Price Service/Manroland UK.

Based in Gateshead, Edwards replaced Chris Jackson in the role earlier this month. Jackson has now become product executive for labels, overseeing the Gallus brand and technology.

Edwards will cover the geographical area coming down as far as North Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

“Digital is a big area for us in the North East – we have a lot of installations,” said Heidelberg northern sales manager Phil Buttress.

“Chris has an enormous breadth of industry experience across a number of technologies in commercial and packaging.

“He has also worked in consumable sales so we are sure he will be a great asset to the sales team. He is centrally located within the area which helps, and we love his enthusiasm and the way he has tapped into the knowledge base during his induction period.”

Around 65% of Edwards’ focus will be on consumables, with the remainder of his time split between Heidelberg's Versafire toner-based digital presses, Prinect workflow modules and CTP devices.

Speaking about his first week in the role, Edwards said: “There was a tailored introduction to what I will need to know and who can help me.

“Those who could help me turned out to be an incredible team of experts who took time to explain, show and engage with me. They were helpful, courteous, cheerful and knowledgeable. It has been the best start to a job I have ever had.”