"There's no point asking that. It's like asking what would happen if a plane fell out of the sky."

Dennehy said Mercer was confident in the saleability of the Titan 500 line, which was "integral" to the company's performance. The shortfall in sales would be made up in the coming financial year, he said.

Mercer told the sharemarket it had established a working capital facility from Gresham Finance, a company associated with Rolleston, who is a Mercer director and shareholder.

The firm has appointed one of its directors, Richard Rookes, to become its new chief executive. Rookes, an investment banker and a manager of the Rakaia Fund, chaired by Rolleston, has been a director of Mercer for the four years.

Rookes said it was disappointing not to sell the targeted 12 slicers but Mercer saw the shortfall as a timing issue. Titan sales had been "somewhat slower than we had hoped but we remain absolutely committed to the technology".

Growing a global business, selling high-end, capital equipment was a long and costly process. Titan models ranged in cost up to US$575,000 per machine - but the company had a very good sales pipeline and was "very confident of the long-term value that sits within Titan."

Rookes said Mercer's board did a search for a new chief executive and "ended up asking" him if he would consider the position.

The Rakaia Fund had invested in Mercer four years ago and  held a 32 per cent shareholding.

Outgoing Mercer chief executive Rodger Shepherd, employed four years ago to turn the company around, would stay on as a director. Tobin Blathwayt, who was due to leave his role as chief financial officer, would now stay on as chief operating officer.

Rookes said he had worked closely with both men as an Mercer director and he had in-depth knowledge of the business. With Shepherd staying on, "from a Mercer perspective we've got a good deal of continuity in the business," Rookes said.