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Umax looks at direct presence through JV

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DQC News Bureau
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Umax is contemplating a direct presence in India through a joint venture by

the first half of 2003. According to George Tsai, Asst VP-Sales, Umax is looking

for the right business partner with whom a joint venture can be established. He

however, refused to reveal further details about company’s plans.

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Umax has been selling scanners in India through its distributors (now only

Neoteric) since 1996. And last year, the company had to face serious problems

relating to service support. The need for a direct presence is probably an

outcome of this.

Because of service issues, Umax’s marketshare dropped considerably to

around 10 percent in 2001 from around 50 percent in 1999.

However, according to George, the slump in marketshare was due to a batch

problem in one of Umax’s most popular model - 2000P introduced in 2000.

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Direct

presence in India by the first half of 2003

Marketshare

drops to 10 percent in 2001 from 50 percent in 1999

"We were surprised to know that 2000P model was giving problems in

India, whereas no other country faced problems in this model," says George.

"The problem could have been caused by the high dust content in India,

which I am sure our competition also must have faced," he adds.

According to George, Umax has solved this problem totally and is back in

business with newer models. He also revealed that the company plans to appoint

third-party service providers throughout the country.

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Meanwhile, the company has decided to launch the 2400 dpi - USB2 scanner

Astra6700, and two new digital cameras Astrapix 425 and Astrapix 430 next month.

Umax has also, in a worldwide decision, consolidated all its individual

businesses under one banner called the Powerchip and Umax Group (P&U).

NELSON JOHNY

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