SATO Announces New Sales Office in China

Tokyo, Japan-March 26, 2002. SATO Corporation is pleased to announce the establishment and operation of its new sales office, SATO Shanghai Co. Ltd. Founded by the late Mr. Sato in 1941, SATO Corporation has grown to encompass subsidiaries worldwide with revenues of over USD 500million dollars.

"The decision to expand into China is fuelled by its huge market potential. With its sharp growth and recent entry into WTO, the China market is very attractive and we are quite positive that there will be a demand for SATO's products," explained Mr. Waki, Managing Director, Barcode SATO International.

This move was made shortly only less than six months after another sales office in Thailand was set-up.

"This is all part of the expansion plans we have in the pipeline to grow SATO globally. We have been enjoying very good growth rate in Japan and we are very keen to bring the SATO brand into the global market. We are not only confident that there is a demand for reliable and quality barcode printers but also for prompt service which SATO has instilled in its culture for more than 60 years. In addition, SATO also offers a comprehensive total solution - from scanners to printers to label and ribbon supply, making it very convenient and easy for anyone who requires barcoding solutions," added Mr. Waki.

This expansion plan is being supported and headed by Barcode SATO International (BSI), a holding company in Singapore. BSI is established to provide support spanning from Operations to Customer Service to Sales to its subsidiaries where it also adopts the position of being a "facilitator" between SATO Corporation and the subsidiaries.

For more information, please contact Alicia Tan (Ms), Marketing Executive, Sales & Marketing (BSI), at marketing@sato-int.com

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About Barcode SATO International (BSI)

Barcode SATO International (BSI), the global sales headquarters of SATO Corporation, is a world leader of automatic identification products including barcode printers. BSI was incorporated in 2001 to oversee and support sales, marketing and customer service activities at all group member companies. As part of its expansion plans, BSI is rapidly strengthening its own team, as well as that of its overseas group member companies. BSI is the driving force behind SATO Corporation’s global branding strategy and expansion into new markets and territories.

About SATO

SATO is a pioneer in the Automatic Identification and Data Collection (AIDC) industry, and the inventor of the world’s first electronic thermal transfer barcode printer. It revolutionised the barcoding industry by introducing the Data Collection System (DCS) and Labelling concept – a total barcode and labelling solutions approach providing high quality barcode printers, scanners/hand held terminals, label design software and consumables. SATO is a public listed company in Japan and has worldwide offices in United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Poland, Belgium, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and China. SATO reported revenues of US$445 million in 2002. SATO stock is traded on first section of Tokyo Stock Exchange. More information can be found at www.sato.co.jp.