Horsten has spent more than 30 years in the inkjet business in a variety of sales and marketing roles. He has worked as a consultant for Summa and for his own consulting business since leaving HP in the summer of 2019, after two-and-a-half years with the industry giant where he was EMEA business manager for latex and textiles.
Prior to HP he spent more than five years at Mimaki’s EMEA business.
Agfa said Horsten’s new role would involve managing key accounts and global sales activity, along with market research, and defining sales and marketing strategies for the InterioJet.
Horsten said he was excited to be joining the Belgium-headquartered manufacturer, which has high hopes for its inkjet products, part of Agfa’s Digital Print & Chemicals division.
CEO Pascal Juery said décor was among the applications that were “ramping up” in the firm’s recent Q2 results.
Horsten said the InterioJet business created “unique business opportunities for customers around the world”.
“I look forward to joining the team and to be able to help furthering the growth of the industrial inkjet part of the Agfa business in a sustainable way,” he said.
“We are in a great position to take advantage of market trends and pave the way.”
Tom Cloots, director for Industrial Inkjet at Agfa, said the manufacturer was rapidly expanding its offering for the fast-growing market of industrial inkjet printing, including the development of inkjet solutions for specific applications.
“Mike will help us boost our growth in the flooring and furniture industries. With his vast experience, he is a perfect fit for our organisation.”
The InterioJet uses multiple-pass, water-based inkjet technology and prints onto décor paper used for laminated surfaces such as floors and furniture. It handles media widths of 600mm-1,550mm, has a print speed of up to 340sqm/hour and can run unattended.
Agfa described the investment involved as “very attractive” compared with conventional printing methods such as gravure, or to single-pass inkjet printing systems.
