OKI Data Australia has moved into its new office at Macquarie Park, Sydney, with Alex Kawamura, managing director, cutting the ribbon and opening the ceremonial sake barrel at an event for channel partners and suppliers.
75 guests crowded into the new facility and showroom, which is double the size of OKI's old demonstration centre launched six years ago, on Thursday afternoon. Alex Kawamura, OKI ANZ's managing director since he replaced Dennie Kawahara in October, welcomed them and thanked them for their support before formally cutting the ribbon. A traditional Japanese ceremony then followed, in which Kawamura, along with Greg Mikaelian, Oceanic regional sales manager, Loren Radovancevic, customer and technical services manager, and Bob Cotter of channel partner DDS Group, broke open a barrel of sake, which was shared with all present.
The expanded office space has allowed OKI to add a display and demonstration area for its ColorPainter series of wide format inkjet printers. Kawamura said the new facility furthered OKI's commitment to its Australian channel partners and customers. "The new demonstration facility will enable us to provide world-class demonstration facilities while fostering stronger, more dynamic and mutually beneficial relationships with channel partners and end users. Seeing our products run in our live operating environment will be a powerful educational tool," he said.
Speaking to Print21 after the event about his new role, Kawamura said he was looking forward to building OKI's relationships with channel partners. "Australia is a growing market for OKI, and I'm glad the company trusted me to take over this important role. I'm new to the Australian market - I've only worked in the US and Europe in the past - but I feel very confident that I have strong support from our channel partners and customers," he said.