Bank of Ireland has appointed Brian Evans as head of its manufacturing sector team within its business banking unit, as it seeks to beef up its presence in this area.

Mr Evans was previously operations directors with PCH International, the Cork-based custom design manufacturing company with a large presence in China. He spent four years with PCH.

The Offaly native has also worked for Hewlett-Packard and NEC, and acted as a consultant to SME businesses in Ireland, advising on manufacturing operations, product development and project management.

He has experience of manufacturing, from prototype development to product pricing and production management, and financial experience including capital expenditure and cash-flow management.

Bank of Ireland’s sectors team covers a range of other sectors, including retail, grocery, health and life sciences, hotels and pubs, motor, property, renewable energy, agriculture and technology.

Mr Evans took up his role this week and his appointment will be seen as Bank of Ireland putting down a marker that it intends to grow its presence in the SME manufacturing sector, assisting companies as they invest to grow their exports.

Bank of Ireland provided €50 million in support to SMEs in the manufacturing sector last year, up 25 per cent on 2014. These businesses are typically at the small end of the scale. Larger enterprises would fall under its corporate banking activities.