Among the appointments are business development manager Nick Hancock and software specialist Alan Wilson who, like Kelly himself, were formerly with Danka.

The rest of the team, which includes six sales and six support staff, are currently working their notices with other suppliers and
will all be with the firm by August.

Kelly said that the firm would major on support and initially focus on three cities: London, Birmingham and Manchester. He said the response from companies in the Birmingham area had been particularly strong at Northprint.

A decision on the next territories to target will be made by the end of the firm's financial year.

Meanwhile, the first UK Bizhub Pro 1050 105ppm cut-sheet black-and-white machine has been installed and the user will be revealed soon.

Basic machines, which Kelly claimed are suitable for both high volume and light production applications, start at 65,000 and rise to 111,000.

By Barney Cox