Egham, UK, 30 April 2012: OKI has now announced mid-term plans to double printer unit sales within EMEA.  Terry Laidlaw, managing director of OKI Europe, confirmed this drive for strong growth at the company’s recent Smart Business Conference 2012 in Barcelona.

“In order to achieve our growth plan, we are transforming many parts of the business,” said Laidlaw.

“We are taking the business back to basics, strengthening our manufacturing and supply base and redefining key parts of our engineering, design and production processes.  Key to success will be our ability to put the customer at the very heart of our business, by aligning every function throughout our operation to better support our local sales teams.”

Product strategy
OKI plans to build on its outstanding legacy of research and development, typified by its market-leading digital LED print technology, which offers advantages of greater simplicity, reliability, versatility and print quality over laser-based alternatives.

This is reflected in the company’s announcement that it has extended its range of print and imaging products across all parts of the SMB market. “Now we have a truly comprehensive offering, with a product to meet the precise needs of most businesses, whatever their sector and whatever their printing requirements,” confirmed Laidlaw.

“In particular, we have strengthened our offering to the important micro-business sector (defined as businesses employing less than ten staff). This is an essential sector of the European economy: according to the European Commission (Eurostat 2011), more than nine out of ten businesses in the EU are micro-enterprises, employing nearly 30 per cent of the region’s workforce.”

Highlights:

Micro-businesses
OKI has launched a range of new A4 and A3 desktop products designed to meet the specific communications needs of the micro-business and home office user.  Adopting the same robust technology as the existing range of OKI printing devices, in each case the new products offer low acquisition costs yet provide a superior B2B-level specification, including network capability, PCL compliance and duplex printing.

The new range includes the following new models:

    C301dn, C321dn – A4 Colour single function product (SFP)

    MB441, MB451/MB451w – A4 Mono multi-function product (MFP), including print, copy, fax, scan

    B401d/dn – A4 Mono SFP

    C822 – A3/A4 Colour SFP

The new models are targeted at end-users with their own business, start-ups or small offices.  Speaking at the conference, Laidlaw said: “These businesses want to know what the product can do for them to save money.  “They want to save costs by bringing printing in-house and need a compact printer, as space is typically at a premium.

“Our latest entry-level products offer the flexibility to print on a wide range of media, from business cards and banner to brochures and booklets, combined with highly-reliable, professional print quality.  This not only saves time and money but allows the user to concentrate on their core business.”

Small and medium size businesses and workgroups
OKI has also enhanced its range of SMB and workgroup devices, with upgraded products designed to meet the demand for faster print speeds, lower running costs and consistent high-quality in-house print quality.

New products include:

    C331dn, C511dn, C531dn – A4 Colour single function product (SFP)

    MC352dn, MC362dn, MC562dn – A4 Colour multi-function product (MFP), including print, copy, fax, scan

    M461, M471/MB471w – A4 Mono multi-function product (MFP), including print, copy, fax, scan

Larger businesses and workgroups
OKI Europe has increased its range of print and imaging devices targeted at the larger business and workgroup market.

The new products not only meet the broader requirement of larger users for high performance, flexibility and low cost per copy, but also the demands of specific vertical sectors in such areas as professional quality in-house colour printing on a wide range of media.

New products include:

    C831, C841 – A3/A4 Colour single function product (SFP)

    MB491 – A4 Mono multi-function product (MFP), including print, copy, fax, scan

“One of our key design objectives has been to improve the environmental performance of our products,” said Laidlaw. “As a result, OKI’s products are more energy efficient with the provision of ‘auto of mode’ and improved use of consumables.

“Overall, we offer a comprehensive range of devices covering all customer needs, from home office to departmental and from low acquisition costs to low cost per page (CPP). With the unrivalled consultancy and support we deliver with our channel partners, any business can be sure that we have a product which ideally works for them, both today and tomorrow.”