Sep 11 - Colortrac Appoints Matthew Harris as Director of Operations

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Colortrac Appoints Matthew Harris as Director of Operations

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ST IVES, UK, Sep 11, 2008 - Colortrac Limited, the fast growing large format scanner manufacturer, has announced the appointment of Matthew Harris as Director of Operations, effective from 1st September 2008. Matthew Harris brings to Colortrac more than 30 years of experience gained in senior appointments within the British electronics, telecommunications, safety and quality certification industries.

"The appointment of Matthew Harris as Colortrac's first Director of Operations is a significant milestone in the history of our company", said Graham Tinn, Colortrac's Managing Director. "Matthew will fulfill a vital strategic executive role as Colortrac continues to grow rapidly and expand its product ranges by bringing exciting new and innovative wide format scanners to AEC, CAD, GIS and graphics markets worldwide.

"Matthew's primary role is to direct and lead our production, quality assurance and technical support staff as we increase our production capacity, implement ISO quality processes and improve our product support activities for the expanding end user base world-wide. Matthew will be based at our UK HQ and split his time between our UK and Suzhou PRC operations centers. I am looking forward to working closely with him."

Matthew has a bachelor of electrical and electronic engineering degree from Lanchester Polytechnic, (now Coventry University). While still a student, he joined CASE (Computer and Systems Engineering) in 1974 as a designer of multiplexors, modems and telex diverter stations. Asked to set up CASE's BABT (British Approvals Board for Telecommunications) Test Laboratory, he worked closely with Underwriters Laboratory to ensure the highest standards of compliance in products shipped to over 120 countries worldwide.

As CASE's Design Quality Manager with responsibility for 200 software and hardware designers, Matthew was known as "Mr Odds and Sods". This title did not prevent him being invited to chair the TTPC (Telecoms Terminal Equipment Policy) committee of the FEI (Federation of the Electronics Industry, now called Intellect), a UK trade association. Between 1988 to 1997, as a committee chairman of the FEI, Matthew regularly represented the interests of British industry to the DTI (Department of Trade and Industries) and EU (European Union) commission.

Promoted to Company Quality Manager, Matthew was responsible for the quality output of CASE's 300 service and 150 manufacturing operators. To add to his work load, he sat on the Policy Advisory Committee of UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service), the sole national body recognized by government to assess, against internationally agreed standards, organizations that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration services. (Accreditation by UKAS demonstrates the competence, impartiality and performance capability of these evaluators.)

In 1998 Matthew joined Cambridge-based Simoco International, previously a part of the Philips electronics company, where he was in charge of a $4.5m pa international telecommunications support organization.

In 2001 Matthew left Simoco to start his own business, Winning Solutions Limited, in St Albans, Herts. As a Director of Winning Solutions, he used his many years of experience in the safety and quality certification industries to offer specialist Crisis Project Management, CE Product Marking and the preparation for ISO 9001 and 17025 certification consultancy services to a wide range of British businesses. Among these was Colortrac whom Matthew met for the first time in 2008 in his capacity as an ISO 9001 consultant.

"The fit was perfect" said Graham Tinn. "We could immediately see that there was synergy. Matthew clearly has the range of skills and experience which Colortrac needs in order for the company to grow and fulfill its potential within the wide format scanning industry."

"As Colortrac's Director of Operations, my job will be to consistently deliver quality products and services to customers" said Matthew. "I enjoy a challenge, particularly in addressing issues that come from high growth and which relate to sustaining growth. In that regard, I am looking forward to managing Colortrac's large format scanner production and in future getting $1.8m worth of quality assured wide format products out of the factory door on time each month, with the necessary support and services infrastructure in place to support them."

Like other staff at Colortrac, Matthew is now attempting to learn Mandarin Chinese. As part of his new job, his first duty was to revisit the Suzhou manufacturing plant where he previously helped implement an internal quality audit. Matthew says he is "reasonably impressed with the set-up in Suzhou. The workers are conscientious and hard-working with well established continuous improvement programs in place. However, as there is always room for further improvements, I am looking forward to working with Colortrac operations staff world-wide to achieve greater efficiency in production and world-class quality processes."

During his time in Cambridge, Matthew developed a passion for rowing on the River Cam which wound its slow way past his Simoco office in Chesterton. Encouraged by work mates to join a Cambridge rowing club, he soon became a competent rower and eventually participated in the "Bumps", an annual Cambridge rowing event. Today Matthew rows at Broxbourne on the River Lea near St Albans where he lives.

About Colortrac

Founded in 1989 Colortrac Ltd is a dedicated manufacturer of large format scanners and scanning software based in St Ives, Cambs, UK, a region of British excellence in science and technology. As an acknowledged wide format innovator and industry leader, Colortrac can claim a number of notable "firsts", most importantly the development of the first large format color scanner. Not bound by doctrine or technology, Colortrac was the first wide format scanner manufacturer to recognize the individual merits of CIS and CCD sensor technology. Colortrac use both technologies to provide practical solutions that meet the divergent needs of the Graphic Arts, AEC, CAD, GIS, EDM and FM technical documents scanning markets to best effect. The Colortrac range of SmartLF large format scanners, now in their fifth generation, excel in meeting the specific requirements of these markets while offering unrivalled price and performance benefits. Colortrac Ltd also has offices in Beijing & Suzhou in

For more information, visit at www.colortrac.com.

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