In response to growing market demand, OKI Printing Solutions (the brand name for Oki Data Corporation) will this month launch two local sales offices in Brazil - in Brasilia (the country's capital) and Recife.

Brazil's business printing market* is the 2nd largest performing market in Latin America and the 14th largest globally. Valued at more than $300m USD a year, business printer manufacturers ship more than 310,000 units to the country annually.

OKI Printing Solutions currently holds a 15%** marketshare in the Brazilian color page printer market. Brazil's color page printer market is expected to continue strong growth of approximately 78% from 2005 to 2006#. The company also holds approximately 25%** marketshare in the dot matrix market where growth remains strong.

The sales offices in Brasilia and Recife will focus on the finance and banking, public sector and Small and Medium Business (SMB) markets.

Mikihiko Maeno, President and CEO for Oki Data Corporation, says:
"Core to our business is building lasting relationships with our customers. By expanding our presence in Brazil we can provide greater service to our customers, especially at our new showroom in Brasilia, and ensure that our reseller partners have the necessary skills to provide the very best customer support, both before and after purchase."

In the last year OKI Printing Solutions has undertaken such major global expansion efforts as opening new manufacturing facilities in Scotland, a Print Centre in Mexico, its first software development company in China and Korea's first sales office.

Oki Data do Brasil Informática Ltda is a subsidiary of Oki Data Americas, which markets its products under the OKI Printing Solutions brand.

* excluding inkjet but including MFPs
** Source IDC: Q4 2005
# Source IDC: Q4 2005 colour page printer forecast