Plesske takes up his new board-level role of chief operating officer on 1 May.

His background includes restructuring activities at similar types of business, KBA said.

The appointment will free up chief executive Claus Bolza-Schünemann to focus on the day-to-day running of the €1.1bn (£900m) turnover group.

Plesske's contract is for an initial period of 18 months, with an option to extend it for a further six months.

KBA’s Fit@All realignment plan will involve changes to the group’s manufacturing capacity including concentrating expertise at certain sites, and focusing KBA’s activities on growth areas. Around 1,400 jobs will go as a result.

KBA posted a loss of €130.7m in its 2013 results due to one-off costs of €155.2m associated with the programme.

In a statement, KBA praised Plesske’s expertise: “We are pleased to welcome such an experienced and distinguished expert to our company, on the one hand to implement Fit@All consistently and swiftly, while also simultaneously guaranteeing an unrelenting focus on the market presence of our operating business.”

Separately, KBA has informed customers that the remote maintenance software for its web and sheetfed presses is not vulnerable to the so-called ‘Heartbleed’ bug.

The manufacturer said it used encrypted connections via IPsec, and this was not affected.