Epson President Says Crisis Driving Tech Innovation

[Anonymous]

Epson President Says Crisis Driving Tech Innovation

Competition and core values the recipe for growth.
Minoru Usui, President of the Seiko Epson Corporation, opened the 2012 edition of IFA, the world’s largest consumer electronics trade fair, by outlining his vision for growth in the technology sector. Usui noted in his keynote speech that technology manufacturers are experiencing unprecedented change in their competitive environments, as well as in their markets and the global economy. Cautioning against short-term solutions, he advocated a return to core values as the answer not only to financial success, but finding innovative and differentiated solutions to society’s needs.

In addition to exhibiting new, compact, high-precision and energy-saving printer and projector ranges (40% smaller than last year’s models), Usui discussed Epson’s new wearable products, focused on entertainment, sports, medicine and healthcare.

Usui said: "The maturation of printer, PC and smartphone consumer markets increasingly means there are higher levels of cost competition, which in turn drives innovation in engineering. Epson has identified wearable PC technology as an area of future growth which it is uniquely capable to address. Combined with our R&D in this field, competition in our core markets is also driving rapid innovation in our proprietary technologies that we can leverage for these new products."

When Usui took charge of Epson in 2008, he chose to emphasise Epson’s core values of Takumi (craftsmanship) and Monozukuri (the art and science of manufacturing), as well as instructing his engineers to leverage Epson’s unique and proprietary technologies to new ends.

These choices have translated into a specialised engineering school to teach all Epson’s engineers the necessity to build mass manufacturing requirements into their innovative designs. This is in addition to Epson’s continued ownership and oversight of all of its global manufacturing sites.

Usui credited these early decisions with the development of this year’s product offering, saying: "We are confident that nobody else could make these products. Epson’s investment in its core engineering, manufacturing values and core technology has helped us achieve an historic high of up to 35% market share in the EU5 overall, and at times, market leading positions in the UK, Germany and Italy for consumer inkjet printers this year. It has also helped Epson to maintain its number one position in global projector, large-format printer and retail printer sales. Wearable PC products that interact with the cloud will come next."

High-precision, compact, energy-efficient technology
Usui’s goal to create 40% smaller, high-precision and highly energy-efficient printers has been achieved in the Expression Premium Series being showcased at IFA 2012. These compact inkjets are packed full of new features for more versatile home printing and are ideal for busy households that want the ultimate in home photo and document printing.

[Author]

September 13, 2012 at 9:27 AM