中文Cambridge-headquartered inkjet technology developer Xaar has appointed a new chairman, bringing in seasoned industrial board veteran Daniel Dayan after incumbent Ben Stocks stepped down. Dayan joined the business on 14 October as chair and independent non-executive director, marking a notable change at the top of one of the UK’s most recognised inkjet engineering companies.
Stocks said that for reasons of professional focus and “concerns about over-boarding,” it was a good time for him to step away, and he wished the Xaar team well as they continue to execute their growth plans. His departure appears amicable and planned rather than the product of any dispute, leaving the incoming chair a stable platform from which to build.
Dayan brings a wealth of board-level experience accumulated over two decades of senior appointments. His track record includes serving as non-executive director of Chemring, chair of Low & Bonar, and as chief executive of Fiberweb and Linpac Group. Since 2022 he has been non-executive chairman of Bodycote, the performance metallurgical technology group with turnover of 727 million pounds. That background in advanced materials and industrial manufacturing maps closely onto Xaar’s own strategic direction.
In his first comments, Dayan framed Xaar as “an IP-rich company with substantial competitive advantage” that will benefit from significant growth trends involving precision deposition and additive manufacturing. He noted that over the past six years the Xaar team has worked hard to extend the end-market applications for its unique technology, moving into advanced manufacturing as well as high-value niches within existing industrial print applications. Dayan said he looks forward to working with the board and executive team to support Xaar in achieving its full potential.
Xaar chief executive John Mills welcomed the appointment, saying Dayan’s experience and background are “very relevant as we progress on the next stage of our growth journey,” and that the executive team looks forward to working with him. The public alignment between incoming chair and sitting CEO is a positive signal for continuity.
Xaar’s technology is built on piezoelectric drop-on-demand printheads that deposit fluids with extreme precision, a capability that extends well beyond conventional graphics printing. The company has spent years diversifying into areas such as ceramics, packaging, direct-to-shape decoration, and increasingly into additive manufacturing and industrial deposition, where the ability to place exact volumes of material accurately is commercially valuable.
The appointment comes at a time when industrial inkjet is enjoying renewed momentum, as converters and manufacturers seek digital alternatives to analogue processes that reduce setup, waste and inventory. For Xaar, which owns a deep patent estate around its printhead architectures, the challenge has been converting technological leadership into consistent, scalable revenue. A chairman with Dayan’s turnaround and scale-up credentials may be exactly what the company believes it needs.
Whether the new leadership pairing can accelerate that commercial translation remains to be seen, but the strategic narrative is clear: Xaar intends to lean harder into precision deposition and advanced manufacturing, and it has recruited a chairman whose career has been built on exactly those industrial frontiers.
Source: Printweek (www.printweek.com)
Xaar’s technology is built on piezoelectric drop-on-demand printheads that deposit fluids with extreme precision, a capability that extends well beyond conventional graphics printing. The company has spent years diversifying into ceramics, packaging, direct-to-shape decoration and, increasingly, additive manufacturing and industrial deposition, where placing exact volumes of material accurately is commercially valuable. The appointment comes as industrial inkjet enjoys renewed momentum: converters and manufacturers are seeking digital alternatives to analogue processes that cut setup, waste and inventory. For Xaar, which owns a deep patent estate around its printhead architectures, the long-standing challenge has been converting technological leadership into consistent, scalable revenue. A chairman with Dayan’s turnaround and scale-up credentials may be exactly what the company believes it needs to translate invention into dependable growth.
Beyond graphics, Xaar’s printheads are deployed across ceramics tile decoration, glass, direct-to-shape packaging, textiles and an expanding set of advanced manufacturing roles where precisely metering functional fluids, whether conductive inks, adhesives or biological agents, unlocks new products. The company has leaned on an intellectual-property licensing model, allowing partners to build systems around its core technology, which spreads development risk while deepening its installed base. That strategy requires disciplined commercial execution, and Dayan’s record at turnaround and scale-up assignments is precisely the kind of governance experience Xaar has signalled it wants. The UK remains a surprisingly strong hub for industrial inkjet engineering, with several globally significant developers clustered around Cambridge and beyond, and Xaar’s heritage in piezoelectric architecture gives it a defensible position. The question for investors is whether management can convert that technical moat into durable, higher-margin revenue streams as additive manufacturing and precision deposition move from pilot to volume production over the coming decade.
For Xaar’s customers and partners, the leadership change is unlikely to alter the company’s technology roadmap in the short term, but it signals a board intent on sharpening commercial focus. Dayan’s experience chairing a quoted industrial group gives him direct familiarity with the investor expectations that come with a London listing, and his manufacturing background aligns with Xaar’s push into industrial markets where operational rigour matters as much as invention. The printing industry has weathered a prolonged cycle of cautious capital spending, and many suppliers are betting that deferred upgrades will return as order books stabilise. If that recovery materialises, Xaar’s refreshed leadership will be judged on whether it can convert a deep technology portfolio into the kind of predictable, higher-margin growth that has long eluded the sector.
