Seiko Epson CEO speaks at IFA conference on creativity involved in making printers.
Huffington Post reports on Minoru Usui’s speech at the IFA conference in Berlin regarding “monozukuri” or “the art and science of manufacturing”.
Usui spoke of the challenge printer manufacturers face to make printers a more desirable purchase to consumers, pointing out that “nobody gets excited about a product like printers that, to a certain level, anybody can make. We have to get over that stage, and take on new challenges to promote new value.”
Highlighting the company’s focus on designing smaller, more compact printer models to fit in with the growing trend of “wearable” products, Usui commented: “When we look at trends in society, the PC is very much going to the wearable area. So when we were thinking about what the next stage of our company is we looked at the technologies we have, which are company and energy saving, and together with the know-how about watch-making and printers we definitely saw a link.”
Turning ideas into a reality is something Usui also touched upon in his speech with regards to manufacturing printers, as he continued: “To come up with the idea for the product is easy but to put it into shape and make it suitable for sale is extremely difficult […] Once you make the first one then you start to see the next level, and the new possibilities. We’re working hard to make the next generation which is going to be much smaller, much more compact, much more beautiful in design, lighter, and it’s the whole process of continual improvement that makes that possible.”
Epson employees in Japan are encouraged to get involved in the creative process of manufacturing, with all new employees learning to take apart and assemble printers. Usui explained that, while new employees often have good ideas about what products to make, “it’s extremely important for them to understand what is practical – and how to make things. Without that kind of training it’s difficult to understand how to make something in a practical way.”
Looking to the future of Epson’s manufacturing business, Usui commented that the company will “keep focusing on our research and development” adding that “Epson is a company that has the ability to create concepts and make them real. This cycle of improving technology is what we can do to achieve that.”