Heidelberg appoints Chris Brooks as vice president of label products in North America

Heidelberg North America has appointed Chris Brooks as its new vice president of label products, furthering the integration of Gallus into its team.

In his new role, Chris Brooks will focus directly on the integration of Gallus into Heidelberg North America and is responsible for expanding the Gallus product line in the US and Canada

Throughout his 24 years of experience in the printing industry, Brooks has spent the entirety of it at the former Heidelberg Web Systems, now manroland Goss web systems, working in the web offset segment. Brooks started off as a mechanical engineer and worked in various product management and technical sales support roles prior to his last 14 years working in both sales and sales management.

In his new role, Brooks will focus directly on the integration of Gallus into Heidelberg North America and is responsible for expanding the Gallus product line in the US and Canada.

As of April 1, Gallus fully integrated with the Heidelberg North America team in order to increase market coverage and efficiency in sales and service. This transition allows Gallus customers access to the entire product and service portfolios of both companies from a single source.

Brooks will report directly to Felix Mueller, president of Heidelberg Americas, who said: ‘Chris has the technical knowledge, communication skills and experience in developing market potential for new technology that provides an outstanding base for this new exciting role.

‘With industry-leading label machines from Heidelberg-Gallus, Chris is looking forward to expanding the label market in North America.’

Brooks added: ‘Heidelberg has always had such a great reputation in the market, and I’m proud to be a part of this team again. Being responsible for this new product line is both exciting and challenging, but I’m thrilled to play an integral role in its growth.’

Of the integration of Gallus into Heidelberg North America, Brooks added: ‘It impacts both companies differently. For Heidelberg, it brings more products to sell and, in many cases, an entire new customer base. For Gallus, the integration opens up the entire Heidelberg sales organization that will create an increase in new orders. It’s my goal to learn the needs of both sides and to help keep the integration moving smoothly and efficiently.’

Gallus and Heidelberg are exhibiting together at Labelexpo Americas 2018, taking place September 25-27 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. Here, the new Gallus Smartfire entry-level inkjet label press and Heidelberg Omnifire 250 ‘4D printer’ will be showcased.

‘Labelexpo sets the stage for our new combined team,’ noted Brooks. ‘Our booth will focus on celebrating the integration of two great brands and the benefits they will bring to the label market.’

Read L&L’s preview of Labelexpo Americas 2018 in issue 4, 2018, and here