Newman, who was previously chief operations manager will step up the new role on 1 October.

As a result of his promotion, which makes him the wide-format specialist’s first managing director, he will work closely with the company’s owners and directors Peter Mitchell and Phil Thomas.

“The current directors certainly aren’t retiring yet,” said Newman. “In fact, whilst I’ll be in charge of the day-to-day running of the company, the three of us will work extremely closely on the strategy of driving the business forward to the next level of growth.”

Both Mitchell and Thomas praised Newman’s leadership, experience and commitment.

“Whilst we have all experienced a challenging 2020, our view is firmly to the future. With new products, projects and opportunities for Hybrid, our reseller partners and our customers, Brett’s leadership will play a key part in how this is delivered, said Mitchell.

This was echoed by Newman: “There’s no denying that 2020 has been a tough year for every business. Navigating the Covid storm has been a challenge, however Hybrid is looking to the future with plans for growth in all areas of the business, and we continue to recruit additional staff in the areas that require the resource.”

Newman, who before joining Hybrid three years ago was managing director of Roland DG’s UK operation, has more than 25-years industry experience under his belt.

He said he was looking forward to bringing a fresh perspective in his new role.

“I’m bringing a broad understanding of every aspect of the supply chain to the new role, having worked at manufacturer, distributor, reseller and end-user level, it allows an additional perspective on Hybrid’s strategic direction.

“I’m especially looking forward to leading a great team of people at Hybrid deliver an outstanding range of products from Mimaki.”

According to its latest accounts, to last September, the circa 40-staff business generated a pre-tax profit of just under £2.3m on sales of almost £18m.