One of the chief obstacles for any newcomer to the A3 MFP stage is developing a reputation for high-quality products and unparalleled service—basically akin to telling a tree cutting it needs to become a mighty oak ASAP. It doesn’t happen overnight, and in some circumstances, not at all.
However, 2024 has proven to be an outlier from a conventional thinking standpoint. During a whirlwind span of two weeks in September, Fujifilm announced its entry into the North American A3 and A4 market, while Katun Corp.—recognized as a leader in OEM-compatible parts and supplies—added A3 hardware manufacturing to its résumé with the help of an unidentified manufacturing partner that may or may not have been referenced earlier in this sentence.
Katun went all in with the announcement of its Arivia line of 11 A3 color and monochrome MFPs, which were launched immediately in the U.S. and Mexico. European availability (United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Spain and France) commenced this month, with the balance of Europe and Latin America to take place throughout 2025.
Leading the global marketing charge is respected industry veteran Kay Fernandez, who previously served lengthy stints with Konica Minolta and Toshiba. She provides an air of familiarity for dealers, although Katun is already a household name in office tech dealer circles. And the newly minted OEM manufacturer secured an advocate with equal clout in Impact Networking, which provides Katun with a high-profile authorized reseller at the outset.
Katun’s vice president of global marketing took time from her hectic schedule to share the Minneapolis-based company’s journey to becoming an A3 OEM, the whys behind its foray and some selling points that outline the Arivia line’s value proposition. She also believes Katun’s core competency for the past 45 years—compatible parts and supplies—will serve as a growth catalyst as the company seeks a healthy share of the dealer A3 pie.
From a sales performance standpoint, how has Katun fared in the U.S. through the first eight months of 2024, and what were some of the variables that played a role in shaping the year?
Fernandez: Through August of this year, our performance has been strong. We’ve been slightly above all sales actuals in comparison to 2023. Katun’s core still remains very strong. Our profitability has been super, even a little better than what we’d anticipated. Most variables have revolved around preparation for the launch of Arivia. The team’s done a fantastic job of continuing to focus on the core business while developing and implementing our new MFP division.
Anecdotally, many U.S. dealers have expressed the sentiment that there are too many manufacturer options for the level of demand they’re seeing. What did Katun see in the global market that communicated the notion that the dealer community could support another OEM on the A3 side?
Fernandez: We’ve seen the landscape change considerably over the last several years. As you know, there’s been significant consolidation related to manufacturers and partners. I think one of the main drivers behind this trend is the relevance of the printing business to the core business, especially when we think of the manufacturers. In a lot of cases, the manufacturers have divested print to refocus their resources in other areas of their business. At Katun, document imaging has been our core business for over 45 years, and we want to continue leveraging that experience and expertise. We want to dig in and become that primary provider for our partners. It’s a core competency for us. And we believe that print remains quite strong and there’s a lot of opportunity in the market. Perhaps print output is declining, but it’s certainly not going to go away. Our hope is to really gain share from these other manufacturers.
Talk a little about the genesis of the plan to become an MFP manufacturer. Where and when did the idea take root? How did Katun reach the decision to move forward?
Fernandez: When GPI (parent company General Plastic Industrial) acquired Katun in 2018, supporting our journey toward becoming an MFP OEM was a logical next step. Katun started exploring MFP development about two years ago and identified a manufacturing partner to co-develop products. The motivation behind this move is to make it easier for partners to do business with us. Because we’ve had 45 years in this channel, we understand the dealer partner community. We have an experienced team that supports the channel, and we understand many of the challenges that dealer partners face and how to address them. Ultimately, we wanted to move into hardware and continue to be a leading aftermarket supplier.
Katun has opted not to disclose the identity of its hardware partner. What can you share about this company?
Fernandez: We’re partnered with one of the most innovative and respected manufacturers in the world. Its technology, manufacturing capabilities and distribution model align perfectly with our strategy to deliver a differentiated product that brings value to our customers.
Becoming an OEM is a big stride from offering compatible imaging supplies. Tell us about the investments in technology and talented personnel required to make it a reality.
Fernandez: We’ve invested significantly in the development of our Arivia product line and will continue to devote resources to research and development, and recruiting top talent as we grow our product offerings. Our goal is to partner with the best manufacturers within each segment and ultimately expand the business in alignment with our core competencies. Since I joined Katun this past April, we’ve hired 15 new team members specifically to support this business. We have over 30 in all plus resources that are 100% dedicated to the MFP business. We’re continuing to ramp up. As we bring on more partners, our internal teams will continue to grow. One interesting fact about the 15 new hires is that they’ve supported virtually every manufacturer in the market—companies such as Xerox, Konica Minolta, Toshiba, HP, Lexmark, Kyocera, Muratec and Kofax. They have a combined 357 years of industry experience with an average tenure of almost 24 years. That’s a lot of knowledge to draw upon.
So we can expect to see subsequent releases within the Arivia product line. Will it include A4?
Fernandez: We’re continuing to build out our product offerings and A4 is definitely in the future. We know it presents a huge opportunity, especially with remote work. Our goal is to have a comprehensive A3 line which addresses the core product segment in the dealer’s business right now, with an eye toward A4 in the near future.
What do you feel sets the Arivia line apart from the field of competitors?
Fernandez: We really differentiate through usability, reliability and environmental impact. Katun products are equipped with long-life consumables that are user-replaceable, and many components will never require replacement during the product’s lifecycle. During a typical three-year lease term, the drum won’t need to be changed. We also back the product with a three-year manufacturer’s warranty and the Katun Commitment that guarantees performance. If anything isn’t performing within specification, we’ll replace it with a like or similar model at no charge to the customer.
We’re also partnered with PrintReleaf’s reforestation program. When a Katun partner becomes Arivia authorized, they are automatically enrolled in this program. When you buy an Arivia MFP, you’ll receive a monthly page allotment that can contribute toward the planting of new trees. That enables an Arivia partner to build a sustainability initiative focused on reforestation at no cost to them. Partner dealers can pick and choose which customers they offer this program to. Customers will need to run an MPS program to participate in order to track the prints. Becoming an Arivia Authorized Partner allows the dealer partners an advantage to support sustainability practices and market the PrintReleaf reforestation program as their own without the added expense of the program.
What can you share regarding the marketing efforts for Arivia? Do you have any placement/partner goals for the first full year?
Fernandez: We recently launched the Katalyst Partner Program, which is focused on supporting our partners and making it easy for them to work with us. That’s the main positioning of the program. When we were developing it, we also thought about how we can help our partners drive more profitability on the hardware side as well as with Katun’s core parts and supplies business. It’s a significant competitive advantage being able to deliver increased profit in both areas. That’s a pretty unique position as both an OEM and aftermarket supplier. We also took a hard look at pricing and performed a competitive analysis on the hardware side versus some of the major manufacturers. It’s all about simplifying. We’re trying to make it easier to work together, eliminating quotas and offering upfront discounts, and just making it completely transparent for the dealer to understand their pricing.
We have some internal sales revenue targets that we’re working toward. Essentially, our goal in 2025 is to have signed on enough dealers so we have a nice national and global footprint for distribution.
Impact Networking is a significant dealer to enlist as the first major partner. How did this union develop?
Fernandez: One of my first goals when I joined Katun was to look at the branding. And of course, the best way to communicate the brand is through the website. [Impact CEO] Frank Cucco has been a longtime friend to Katun, and we saw some partnership synergies in aligning with their managed marketing organization. We connected with them early on, and it made a lot of sense to partner with them to help us build out our website. They understood our business, and they have a fantastic internal team. We launched the Arivia product line with what I’ll call a microsite. Now we’re working on updating our corporate and our global website. The Impact Networking team has been able to recommend best-in-class website infrastructure that supports the global business. That provided the opportunity to partner on the MFP side as well.
What are some of the key features of the partner program that dealers will find compelling?
Fernandez: First and foremost, we don’t have a direct organization, so we don’t compete with dealer partners. This is a new, unique brand to the market, and we wanted to be a little disruptive. This represents a great opportunity for partners to work with a manufacturer that already understands the business but is coming in with something completely new.
Another factor is that we have stability in our supply chain; our inventory management processes are strong. Post-COVID, we were instrumental in keeping the partners and even some OEMs running during periods of significant volatility. That we excel in this area is a point of differentiation.
Do you see the parts and supplies business as a driver for growing your MFP dealer partner ranks?
Fernandez: Our goal is for the MFP business to support the core business, which continues to be quite strong. Since I joined Katun, we’ve launched over 20 new compatible supplies and parts in A3 and A4. We’re also continuing to invest in R&D. Recently, we opened a 105,000-square-foot lab in Taiwan that will provide space for product development, quality testing and profitability modeling that goes into launching every aftermarket line. A lot of times, volume dictates our focus, so we’re going to continue bringing to market the products that are going to maximize dealer profitability. That will continue to be a key driver for Katun.
What will a successful 2025 look like in your estimation?
Fernandez: We currently do business with almost every partner in the imaging channel, so we’ll undoubtedly be partnering with many of our current customers. The great thing is our existing relationships are going to help accelerate the onboarding process, which will ultimately help us get to market faster. Displacing established manufacturers in some of these dealerships will be a key focus for us. The goal is to be geographically dispersed, hopefully within the next 24 months, and have dealer representation in all large and key mid-markets.
It’s an exciting time for Katun, and it will be interesting to see how the market reacts to the new hardware entry in the coming months.
Fernandez: It’s been a fun ride for me and will continue to be. I joined Katun in part because I’d be starting something new and essentially working on it from the ground up. That was really exciting and a unique opportunity. Being able to do this and having the opportunity to work with some old friends again has been great. Katun has a tremendous reputation, so it made my job easier to market a company the dealers have relied on for 45 years. We’re very excited about the future.
