Epson was born out of Seiko, and then the student becomes the master

Minoru Usui, who started to work as an engineer at Epson in 1979, helped Epson make a difference in digital printing systems thanks to the piezo technology he developed. Launched in 1993, the piezo printhead not only provided the best printer performance of the era, but also became a standard in printing technologies. Under the management of Minoru Usui, who assumed the CEO position of the company in 2007 and the chairmanship in 2008, thanks to its success in the field, Epson strengthened its world leadership in printers and digital printing systems.

Minoru Usui in short

Minoru Usui was born on April 22, 1955. After graduating from the Engineering Faculty of the University of Tokyo in 1979, he worked as an engineer for 6 months in a shipping company. Then, he joined the Shinshu Seiki family. The company, which is identified with Seiko watches and will be named Seiko Epson Corporation in the future, was producing technological products with the Epson brand, the importance of which is increasing in Japan's competition with the West. EP-101 electronic printers developed for the Olympic Games held in Tokyo in 1964 provided the company with a significant market power. These printers, which started mass production in 1968, heralded great innovations in printing technologies for the Seiko and Epson brands.

Minoru Usui, who started working for Epson at Shinshu Seiki in 1979, took an active role in Epson's R&D and P&D processes. In particular, it achieved significant success during the development of the EP-101. The EP-101 printers were the world's first compact and digital printer and gave Epson a very important advantage in its competition with Xerox, a world giant in the field of printing technologies. In this period when the era of inkjet printers began, the projects Minoru Usui participated in led to the further development of the EP-101. So much so that 95% savings in energy consumption were achieved.

In the 1980s, there were important developments in the field of calculators as well as digital printers. In calculators, the Kashio Brothers and Casio brand had become the engine of progress. The Kashio Brothers, who succeeded in producing Japan's first electric calculator in the 1950s, had ended the era of mechanical calculators. Seiko and Epson, which gained a significant advantage with the EP-101 in competition with Xerox in printing technologies, started to compete with Casio in the 1980s to expand their range and increase their market power in digital products. During this period, Minoru Usui led a mini-printer development project for calculators and worked on new technologies that combine calculators with piezoelectric printing systems.

Thanks to his engineering achievements, Minoru Usui took his career at Epson to the top.

Minoru Usui's Ascension Adventure on Epson

The 1990s witnessed very important changes for Minoru Usui and Epson. Usui's achievements in developing piezoelectric printing systems have enabled Epson to develop serial, compact and high-performance printers, thanks to piezoelectric elements. Developed in 1993 under the leadership of Minoru Usui, the piezo print head not only provided the best printer performance of the era, but also became a standard in printing technologies. Using piezo crystals that pulse when electrical signals are sent to them by the printer, piezo technology produced droplets that were consistent in both shape and size for clear and sharp prints. Thanks to this success, Minoru Usui took over the management of Epson's product development and design department in 1997.

According to Usui, there was no limit to the advancement of technology. To lead this progress, it was necessary to work hard and develop the power of observation. Piezo technology was able to eject ink droplets from each nozzle 40 thousand times per second for high-speed printing. This technology, which has been further developed over time, has given Epson the second biggest advantage in competition with Xerox, after the EP-101. Usui's ascent to Epson continued as director and vice president in 2002, and as production engineering and development COO in 2005. In 2004, he assumed the position of head of the company's corporate research and development division, while continuing as the vice general manager.

The Minoru Usui Era at Epson

Minoru Usui's career at Epson peaked when he was appointed CEO in 2007 and chairmanship in 2008. After 28 years at Epson, his role as CEO has increased Usui's responsibilities. And he made an important contribution to the solution of many problems arising from internationalization at Epson.

Link for detailed history of Epson:

https://epson.com/company-history