By Dan DiGiacomo, Associate Editor, May 16, 2012
While the theme of Kyocera’s 2012 Pan-American Dealer Meeting urged attendees to “Focus on Success,” the company also had several changes to announce, including new global branding and new U.S. leadership. Ed Bialecki, senior vice president of sales for Kyocera Document Solutions America, Inc., led the meeting’s general session at The Venetian in Las Vegas with the announcement that, as of April 1, the organization had officially changed its name globally to KYOCERA Document Solutions and appointed Nori Ina as president and CEO, KYOCERA Document Solutions America, replacing Michael Pietrunti. The name change is accompanied by a new logo and underscores Kyocera’s commitment to providing customers with complete solutions rather than just hardware. “We see the change as a tremendous opportunity, a new beginning if you will,” Bialecki said.
According to Katsumi Komaguchi, president of KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc., Kyocera achieved record sales of 242.3 billion yen (approximately $3 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 31, making 2011 the fourth consecutive year of sales growth for Kyocera and the best single year in company history, an impressive feat considering the poor economy and disasters in Japan. Komaguchi also set an ambitious sales goal of 700 billion yen (approximately $8.7 billion) for the coming year, with a solutions-centered plan for the future. Komaguchi stressed a global standardization of solution sales processes, an increase in HyPAS solution releases functionality and increased R&D engineering staff to strengthen its customized software capabilities.