The appointment follows the establishment of the former Manroland web division as an independent company when it was bought out of administration by Possehl Group.

Horner-Marass has a strong background in manufacturing having spent more than a decade on the management boards of various large German companies, including Zeppelin Baumaschinen and the €100m turnover Holzma Plattenaufteiltechnik, where he was managing director from 2002.

Uwe Luders, chairman of the executive board of Possehl, who will now withdraw from the operative business, said: "I am glad that with Eckhard Horner-Marass we found an entrepreneurial managing director who is going to lead and bring forward the Manroland Web Systems [business] together with the established management team."

Meanwhile, Possehl confirmed that Manroland Web Systems would meet expectations in the first fiscal year since the insolvency of its predecessor "in spite of a difficult market environment as far as sales and profits are concerned".

It added that its acquisition of the Augsberg factory from the administrators of Manroland affirmed its long-term commitment to the site.