Following his appointment as National Sales Manager – Industrial Products (IP) at Hybrid Services in June 2014, LFR caught up with Stuart Cole to see what he’s been up to for the last year and to discover what his plans are moving forward with Hybrid Services.

Well-known and respected as the founder and Managing Director of UK-based Graphic Printing Technologies Ltd (GPT), Stuart disappeared from our radars for a while, but - with his recent appointment at Hybrid Services - has very much sprung to the fore of the wide format print industry once more.

Stuart resigned from GPT in May 2013, but has been keeping himself very busy since that time.  He explains, “For the first six months, I was on gardening leave.  I built a fishpond, put up two sheds, painted the fence, planted some trees, decorated the house, bought a motorbike, did more than my fair share of clay shooting and spent too much money!  I also planned various new ventures which were all going to make me a millionaire(!) and changed my mind several times.  Then came the Hybrid offer…”

Following discussions, Stuart Cole was delighted to accept the offer from Hybrid Services and – as Mimaki’s highly successful portfolio of flatbed and roll-to-roll LED UV printers expands apace – his primary responsibility is to develop this market further.

On opting to join Hybrid, Stuart explains, “I was excited by the opportunity to work with a major product brand and by the excellent potential to grow the Mimaki IP market share in the UK.  I’m really pleased to be part of Hybrid, working closely with Mimaki, and feel that only good things can come from this new challenge.”

Stuart lists his key attributes as drive, focus, determination, attention to detail, enthusiasm and honesty.  He explains, “I like to analyse and address areas that need attention, set goals and reward for achievement.  Being a direct talking person pays dividends – people appreciate knowing where they stand; they know they can trust me and what I say.”

Stuart’s primary target is to increase the IP business for Hybrid by encouraging and supporting the company’s resellers to sell the solutions.  He will also be busy identifying potential resellers in new markets in order to diversify Hybrid’s capabilities and routes to markets.

Mimaki has already added two significant new products to its industrial products line-up in 2014, with the highly acclaimed Mimaki JFX200 8ft x 4ft LED UV flatbed and production roll-to-roll Mimaki UJV500 machines. The new machines sit between the UJF range of small format flatbeds and the grand format JFX500 in a roster that delivers solutions across a broad array of markets.

“I will be focusing on making Hybrid’s reseller network a more efficient and active community.  I will be promoting the growth of our market share by helping our existing resellers to grow, by expanding our reseller channel into new sectors and by promoting Hybrid’s Mimaki IP offerings to both resellers and end-users alike.”

“I like to look after people, build new relationships and maintain existing ones.  Essentially, I want to give our customers what they want,” he adds.

Stuart seems a much happier man of late.  In his own words: “I’m really looking forward to life, again!”