Tokyo Kakai Seisakusho Ltd. has launched a full-spectrum, largely automated product line that leverages its sister company, Kaneda Kakai Seisakusho.

At Nexpo in June, the company quietly distributed literature showcasing the product line, which includes equipment ranging from presses to stackers and automated guided vehicles geared for the U.S. newspaper market.

“We have this product line and we’re going to look at the market and see where our strengths and weaknesses are and talk to the customers out there. There are not a whole lot of pioneers out there anymore, so we’ve got to convince these people that we can tie everything together,” said Mike Shafer, national sales manager at TKS U.S.A. Inc.

With products for nearly every aspect of newspaper production, the company is able to provide automated solutions for a wide variety of corporate needs, while at the same time being fully comfortable with selling its products piecemeal and ensuring their compatibility with non-TKS/KKS products.

“You have to have a system that’s not proprietary,” Shafer said when asked about the type of software controls TKS utilizes to maintain cross-manufacturer compatibility. “We went from a Unix-type platform to something that’s all Windows-based.”

While the company’s software controls do contain some proprietary applications, such as an Structured Query Language database, Shafer said that information could be easily transferred to other systems, whether they may be for report handling or circulation.

The basic TKS software controls are Windows-based and operate on an in-house network. The company’s philosophy on control systems is that they should be able to easily interface with other departments, ensuring that any TKS product that is purchased will be able to work with products from other manufacturers.

“We want to make that a selling point for TKS — tying all of those things in together,” Shafer said. “Hopefully it’s our equipment, but you can slap our mailroom equipment on to another guy’s press.”

Developed overseas in an expensive labor market, TKS’ product line has evolved to fill nearly every niche of newspaper production. Through its close relationship with sister company KKS the two companies have automated and networked their entire product lines.

A newspaper printer’s buffet

Roll unwrapping machines, paster preparation machines, motor dollies, gripper conveyors, paper roll clamping machines and bundle conveyors are all among the list of machines available to potential customers.

Shafer is optimistic that the U.S. market will be a good one for TKS.

“Some of these components will work well with some small or medium-sized [companies],” he said. “It’s not a whole system we’re [necessarily] trying to sell — it’s more of a buffet. Some of these guys are just going to buy a conveyor, and some other ones may want to try a de-heading machine, or one guy may want a gripper-conveyor.”

Shafer also spoke of the wide variety of applications for the company’s motor dollies. With some papers still making use of antiquated chain-driven dollies, there is a market for the replacement of this equipment with modern, automated pieces of machinery.

“You can take these motor dollies we have and retrofit them into an existing building,” Shafer said.

When modernizing, companies can save money by not having to remove already existing floor tracks. Likewise, TKS believes there is a large number of customers who can benefit from updating smaller parts of their operation, as opposed to buying completely new systems.

A softer marketing approach

The company is taking a reserved approach to U.S. marketing.

“We want to offer a product line that’s needed,” Shafer said. “We’ve got to do a little research here to make sure that there is a need out there for this, and that our price is competitive, and if there’s a certain product line that’s not applicable, there’s no use for us throwing that kind of information out to the marketplace.”

While their product line may be somewhat new to the U.S. market, and their approach a bit reserved, TKS’ experience and goals are ammunition to make it what Shafer hopes to be a viable competitor.

Automation being a key focal point for potential customers to keep in mind, Shafer hopes to do as well as possible.

“We can sell it piecemeal or sell it as a system and integrate it into an existing operation,” he said. “We’ve had some presentations about this product line and there’s a lot of interest out there, and I’m very confident that we’ve got a great mix of products here that’s going to be easily accepted. I think there’s a lot of this technology that’s not out there right now.”