Burton returned as sales director of ACE Envelopes at the end of December, moving from SCR Envelopes.

Group chief executive Mark Farrimond said: “Our business has continued to grow. We acquired ACE Envelopes in 2013 and felt we needed somebody who knew the industry, who was a good sales person to support that business and drive it forward. 

“Martin knows our company, he knows how we operate and he ticks all the boxes.

“We’re looking for him to get behind the company and drive it forward to take it to places it hasn’t been before.”

Farrimond said this was a pivotal year for the Earby, Lancashire-based group, which launched new company The Reel Envelope Company last year and expects to double its turnover from £5m to £10m in 2016.

“We’ve got the set-up, we’re investing in the facilities, we’re investing in the machines and we’re investing in the people,” Farrimond added. “We’ve got everything in place now to have a record year.”

Burton said that when he left The Envelope Works Group he kept in touch with Farrimond and they remained good friends.

“Over the last few months they’ve put a lot of things in place and I could see how well they were progressing. I felt what Mark was building was a really positive thing. Some people look at envelopes as a downsizing market but if you do the right thing it’s a positive market to be in.

“The market is not shrinking, it is changing. People do tend to come back to the good old-fashioned envelope really. It’s about being there for the customers when they do.”

Burton is supported by client services manager Sarah Connor, who joined last summer and was previously at Heritage Envelopes.

Nick Walmsley also joined as sales manager of The Reel Envelope Company last week.