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Ishida Europe has appointed Takayo Motegi as its new managing director, succeeding Dave Tiso, who has led the weighing, packaging and inspection technology specialist since 2015.

The leadership transition comes as food manufacturers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa continue to accelerate investment in automation, digitalisation and smart factory technologies to address productivity, labour and sustainability challenges.

Motegi brings more than three decades of experience within the Ishida Group, having held a range of senior commercial and leadership roles across the business. Most recently, he served as managing director of Ishida Thailand, where he spent six years driving business growth and strengthening customer relationships across the region.

His appointment reflects Ishida's continued focus on supporting food manufacturers with advanced weighing, packing and quality control technologies as Industry 4.0 adoption gains momentum across the sector.

Throughout his career with Ishida, Motegi has developed extensive experience working with food manufacturers and processors across a wide range of categories, giving him insight into the operational challenges facing modern production environments.

In his new role, he will be responsible for implementing the Japanese-headquartered company's strategic vision across EMEA while ensuring the business continues to respond to evolving customer requirements around automation, efficiency and manufacturing intelligence.

Commenting on his appointment, Motegi said: "I am honoured to be appointed as managing director of Ishida Europe. The company has a proud history of innovation, customer partnership and excellence, and I look forward to working with our talented teams across the regions to build on the strong foundations built by Dave over the last 11 years."

He added: "During my time at Ishida to date, I have committed to fostering close relationships with our customers and developing an intimate understanding of the solutions they need, which is something I will continue to promote as I lead the business into the future."

As part of the leadership changes, Dave Tiso will become chairman of Ishida Europe, where he will continue to provide strategic oversight and guidance to the business.

During his 11-year tenure as managing director, Tiso oversaw a period of sustained growth for the company, including a number of record financial performances while strengthening Ishida's position across key food manufacturing sectors.

Reflecting on the transition, Tiso said: "It has been a privilege to lead Ishida Europe over the past 11 years. I'm proud of everything the business achieved during my time as managing director and look forward to seeing Takayo build on what I believe are some very strong foundations for further growth."

The appointment comes at a time of significant transformation across the food manufacturing and packaging sectors. Rising production costs, labour shortages, food safety requirements and sustainability targets are increasing demand for automated solutions that improve efficiency and operational visibility.

Technology providers such as Ishida are playing an increasingly important role in helping manufacturers modernise production lines through integrated weighing, packaging, inspection and data-driven quality control systems.

With Motegi now leading the EMEA business, the company is expected to continue focusing on innovation that supports next-generation manufacturing strategies, while maintaining the customer-centric approach that has underpinned its growth across global markets.

The leadership change also highlights Ishida's commitment to developing talent from within the organisation, with Motegi becoming the latest long-serving executive to step into a senior leadership role after building extensive experience across the group's international operations.