EIKI Projectors ... and more
The name EIKI results from the phonetic spelling of the combination of the Japanese words for "picture" (the sound "ei" as in "the letter A" or in the word "face") and "machine" (the sounds "k" and "i" as in the word "key". Think of "A-key to better communication." and you'll think of EIKI.
Founded in 1953 in Osaka, Japan to manufacture technology for classroom instruction, Eiki Industrial Co. Ltd. quickly recognized it possessed special expertise in the engineering of 16mm Film Projectors, and set out to design and build the best classroom film handling equipment possible through a process of continual improvement.
The EIKI Company has been responsible for many innovative breakthroughs, perhaps the most dramatic being the modularization of the 16mm projector. Since inception the projector had become not only more sophisticated, but also more complicated and costly to manufacture and maintain. Most manufacturers considered the technology "mature".
But not EIKI. Applying simple concepts, EIKI engineers designed a projector that utilized about half the moving parts of popular projectors of the day, and put 80% of those moving parts on 4 modules (sub-assemblies). The result was a projector that cost less to manufacture, was far more reliable, and much easier to repair than any other.
This focus on quality made EIKI the largest selling 16mm projector in the world, and is the cornerstone of the Company. A new factory was built around the modular design concept which permitted a dramatic increase in productivity. Meanwhile, a sophisticated sales network was established across Japan, and an export infrastructure created to support worldwide distribution.
K. Sekino
Chairman of the Board.
In 1974 EIKI opened EIKI International, Inc. to distribute its products in the United States. In 1986, the Company acquired the business unit of the Bell & Howell company that had originated the audio visual industry some 50 years earlier. In 1988, EIKI Canada was created as a subsidiary of EIKI International, Inc.
In the late '80s, in conjunction with several technology partners, EIKI innovated LCD video projection technology, and by the early '90's EIKI was one of only two brands of LCD Video Projectors marketed worldwide. Again, in the mid '90s EIKI brand LCD Projectors lead the way into computer projection, with some of the most powerful devices available.
In 1995, EIKI Deutschland, GmbH. became the Company's first wholly-owned office in Europe, focused on the German marketplace. And in 1997 EIKI Czech was founded to establish a network of Dealers across Central and Eastern Europe. Today EIKI brand projection equipment is available in every major country in the world.
The EIKI name literally means "projectors" in Japanese. You won't find it on printers, calculators, TV sets or refrigerators, and you won't find it in retail outlets. We do only one thing: we manufacture and market a broad range of projection technology for education, religion, government and business communication, and offer it through a network of professionals.
And we've been doing that for more than 50 years.
