Epson touts achievements in China via third consecutive CIIE participation

Foreign companies that have signed up for the fifth China International Import Expo in Shanghai are expressing their understanding about the Chinese market and commitment regarding green and low-carbon development via diverse exhibits.

This year marks the third consecutive year that Epson has participated in the CIIE. As a Japan-funded company boasting precision eco-friendly technology, its product lineup covers diversified businesses such as printing, visual solutions and robots.

In its 500-square-meter booth, the company is exhibiting nearly 70 products and solutions in the fields of environmentally friendly office, smart education, the digital industry, cultural heritage and other aspects, echoing the theme of"Green Future Lead with Innovation" and its wish to facilitate people's pursuit of a better life.

With iconic eco-friendly printing devices that adopt Heat-Free technology, Epson is showcasing its role as an adherent to the concept of sustainable development. Through Epson's digital solutions the company is using the power of digital wisdom to improve people's lives.

In addition, their projection football interactive was selected by the CIIE for the first time to be a demonstration solution exhibited in the AI area together with many leading digital companies in the industry.

The company's brand-new AR glasses and spectral detection robot solutions are unveiled at CIIE for the first time, in hopes of catching more professional users' and customers' attention.

"We treasure the opportunities brought by the CIIE to expedite the entry of new products into the Chinese market and at the same time to advance our core business values promoting products that are 'efficient, compact and precise'," said Yasunori Ogawa, president of Seiko Epson Corp.

Core values

Since 80 years ago, Seiko Epson embarked on its business as a watch parts manufacturer relying on its self-developed precision machining technology, which was adopted in following products.

Holding fast to its "efficient, compact and precise" motto, the company continues its efforts in technological innovation and practicing the craftsman spirit. Those concepts and practices constitute Epson's core competitiveness, Ogawa said.

"Being efficient means saving more resources and energy; being compact means making our product smaller to save space; being precise embodies our pursuit of better precision," Ogawa said.

Epson's headquarters is located near the shore of Suwa Lake, a prefecture with scenic surroundings in the nearby area. Since its founding, Epson has been closely tied to environmental protection and refined the essence of green innovation.

Last year, the company rolled out the plan of Epson 25 Renewed Corporate Vision, which clearly articulated its business direction and goals. This year, it launched the Epson Purpose, best described as"Our philosophy of efficient, compact and precision innovation enriches people's lives and helps to create a better world."

The innovation-driven technology has allowed the company to develop a unique design philosophy that has resulted in a wide range of products and solutions that are streamlined, beautiful, accurate and reliable, Ogawa said.

"Our marketing insight created what we are today," Ogawa said."This is why we are able to offer our users the ability to personalize and enrich their lives."

Environmental vision

In the accelerated process of China's dual carbon goals and industrial modernization, Epson updated its Environmental Vision 2050 in 2021 and now is teaming up with scientists to promote its eco-friendly technology.

The revised Vision 2050 aims to achieve negative carbon emissions and zero consumption of underground resources including nonrenewable resources, such as oil and metal, by 2050. Epson will invest 100 billion yen ($675 million) into the areas during the next 10 years.

To achieve this goal, Epson is promoting four major initiatives: decar-bonization, closed resource loop, customer environmental impact mitigation, and environmentally friendly technology development, Ogawa said.

Laser printers are widely used, especially in commercial scenarios. However, they generate heat during operation. The full lines of Epson's inkjet printers are adopting Heat-Free technology, and the energy consumption is reduced by about 90 percent with no heating required during the operation.

"In addition to its environmentally friendly feature, the inkjet printers we produce don't need to replace large-sized parts frequently," Ogawa said. "I hope that users of laser printers can see such advantages and I am looking forward to seeing this technology being recognized worldwide."

Leveraging on its core technologies, Epson is providing customers around the world with eco-friendly products and services at lower cost.

People's definitions for happiness in life have been changing. In the past, people tended to think that the richer they were, the happier they would be. However, now people are more likely to pursuit an exquisite life, Ogawa said.

"I believe that the ultimate pursuit of 'efficient, compact and precise' technology and the essence of green innovation can help people achieve spiritual prosperity," Ogawa said.

Co-creation with partners

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, as well as the 80th anniversary of Epson's establishment, which is considered as a milestone year for the company.

Looking back on the history of Epson's growth, it was one of the first foreign companies to enter the Chinese market. It established the first factory in China in the 1980s and then set up Epson China in 1998.

With more than 40 years of experience in China, Epson regarded China as a key market for its brand worldwide and initiated a group of localization projects.

After researching the younger generation of customers, Epson discovered their requirements for projectors are no longer about the machine itself but also those integrated with media content including animation, TV series and computer games. So it developed China model projectors only for Chinese customers in September and created the "one-click operation" WeChat movie-watching solution, which can unlock a high-quality watching experience with ample resources and smart control.

For more, it partnered with Tencent Video Aurora TV to develop an intelligent streaming product, which is considered as a demonstration case regarding the co-creation with Chinese partners.

"Chinese enterprises are very good at digitalization. These represent a kind of enterprising spirit," Ogawa said. "Only by co-creating with Chinese partners can we expect to make great progress in this market."

Under the present circumstance with the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and a century of ushering in extraordinary transformation, it's crucial to rapidly adjust the business in accordance with customers' needs, especially in the Chinese market, Ogawa said.

From global view, Epson China still sustains high development. With the co-creation project of Epson, the company quickly adapted to the post-epidemic market to bring high-quality products and services, Ogawa said.