The Sharp Corporation of Australia has opened a new B2B technology showroom in the heart of the Sydney CBD to entertain current and potential city-based clients for its printers, copiers, MFCs, whiteboard monitors and other commercial products.

Located on Level 9 of 4 Martin Place, near the corner of George Street, the showroom means Sharp can show B2B products in situ without customers having to travel to the company’s head office in Huntingwood, 35 kilometres west of the city.

The showroom was officially opened by the new managing director of Sharp Australia, Keiichi (Kasey) Katsuta, who replaced Masashi (Mike) Uchiyama, who has returned to Japan to work in Sharp’s solar division, earlier this year.

“Sharp is very close to my heart as I have been with the company for 32 years, originally starting with them in Japan, as well as working at several of Sharp’s overseas subsidiaries, holding key positions across the American, European and Asia Pacific markets,” Katsuta said during his welcoming address.

“I’m very excited to be joining the Sharp Australia team. With new technologies emerging, it is my aim to make sure the company delivers in every area to build on the brand legacy in Australia.

“In addition to that I’m very excited that one of the first things I get to do as the new MD of Sharp Australia is to open up our technology showroom here in Sydney.

“This is a very exciting time for Sharp’s B2B category. It is the biggest category in our product portfolio and I believe that with this new facility we can better showcase the wide range of Sharp business products.

“It is also the start of new era and as such we have also recently appointed Ian Hume as group general manager of B2B.”

Hume is a very experienced manager in the IT industry, having worked at Ingram Micro, Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Lenovo since moving to Australia from the United Kingdom in 2003.

“It’s very exciting time,” Hume said. “I’ve only joined Sharp in the last six months — I’ve come from an IT background — and for me it’s not about a copier or microwave or TV, it’s about technology

“We’re very much leading a charge around the new innovation and the new growth within Sharp, so hopefully you’ll see and hear a little bit about that, not only through our words but also through our actions in coming weeks and months.”