Goss International chief executive Jochen Meissner leaves immediately under a restructuring of management announced by the company’s board.

He is succeeded by Richard Nichols. A statement by the company says the board “expects that the Goss management team, headed by Mr. Nichols, will undertake active and effective measures to stabilise and expand the Goss leadership position in the industry.

“Relying on Shanghai Electric’s support and Goss’s own distinctive capabilities, Goss will optimise the allocation of resources to enhance innovation and responsiveness to customers and market demands, within a culture that fosters an inspiring and challenging working environment.

“This will propel the company to a new level of performance, to meet and exceed the strategic goals of the board.”

The statement says Chinese parent Shanghai Electric believes that the impact of financial crisis will subside and the development of the world economy will bring new opportunities. “Shanghai Electric has confidence in Goss and the printing industry and expects Goss to be an even stronger industry leader in the future,” it ends.

No background information has been issued about the new chief executive, a 49-year-old former president of US-based Terex Cranes, who left the company in February 2011. He is reported to have spent 15 years in the aerospace industry and Honeywell in various senior management positions before joining Terex in October 2000.

His LinkedIn profile describes him as an “experienced, results focused, senior international executive with a high-impact record of building, growing and turning around global businesses across an array of commercial and industrial segments”

During his time with Allied Signal, he set up a joint venture with Daimler-Chrysler, and led manufacturing integration and plant closures resulting from the acquisition of Lycoming by the company’s aerospace subsidiary.

Meissner, who joined Goss with its acquisition of the former Heidelberg web and newspaper business, succeeded Bob Brown as chief executive at the end of 2008.