Director of sales and marketing at parent company Plockmatic Group’s offline business unit, Hillhouse had been with the business for 15 years, and retired on 30 April.
Succeeded in Plockmatic’s UK sales and service operation by Morgana general manager Ed Hudson, Hillhouse will now take the summer to relax before taking any decisions about his next steps.
“At the end of the day, print is a great industry to be in,” Hillhouse told Printweek, reflecting on his career.
“I’ll miss the tactile nature of it, and meeting people. It’s been 40 great years and I’ve been very lucky to do lots of different jobs along that journey. I’ve certainly enjoyed it.”
In 40 years, Hillhouse worked for two companies that became part of a shifting industry landscape: he joined AB Dick Company (ABD) in 1985, and stayed to become European sales and marketing director after it was acquired by Presstek. He joined Morgana in 2010, retaining a key leadership position through its acquisition by Plockmatic in 2013.
“Believe it or not, my apprenticeship was in the telecommunications industry: so I joined just when ABD were bringing electronic controls into their printing machines,” he said.
Hillhouse added he would miss the print industry’s people most of all.
“The people are fantastic. I’ve had some great customers, great dealers, and those people have become personal friends over the years. It’s a small world in the industry,” he said.
“It’s being in front of people, the exhibitions, and that real contact with customers that I will miss – but we’ll see what happens. Hopefully I’ll have an enjoyable retirement, but if I’m getting a bit bored I might pop up somewhere. It’s a big step!”
Ed Hudson was appointed as Plockmatic Group’s UK sales and service operation general manager on 1 May. Joining the industry in the 90s with Xerox, followed by Océ and Canon, he then took a 10-year stint in environmental consultancy and the power industry, before returning to print as sales director at IBIS Integrated Bindery Systems last year.
With Hudson at the helm of sales, Plockmatic will consolidate its Morgana and Intec brands under Plockmatic Group UK branding.
"Our UK client base is currently facing increasing challenges with higher employment costs, supply chain uncertainty and, in some cases, the fallout from US tariffs,” Hudson said.
“We look to further understand our clients’ requirements and offer the best technical and most cost-effective solution in every case, helping them to find the right solution for their business, whether that’s an inline or offline product.”
He added: “Going forward we intend to rebrand the business as Plockmatic Group UK, in-turn consolidating the individual Morgana and Intec brands in a similar way as has happened with Watkiss Automation Ltd, and KGS srl, the PUR binder manufacturing operation.”
Plockmatic exhibited at Fespa, and will bring kit to Printing United and Amplify Print in the US, Labelexpo in Spain, All2Print and Sign & Print in Scandinavia, and SouthPrint and Finish and The Print Show in the UK.
