Mark Brawley, President, Speedprint Technology

After a record-breaking year in sales in 2018, 2019 will also be a growth year for Yamaha, as we continue increasing our market diversity with new products, including the YSi-SP Solder Paste Inspection System, the YST-15 Storage Tower, and the YSP10 Solder Paste Printer that boasts a completely automatic changeover system in less than 5 minutes.

We're also excited to announce that we will be adding our new Yamaha Robotics group in 2019. This will enable us to provide much needed flexibility for SMT applications as they cross over into fully automated production lines with Factory 4.0 and the Automated Factory Initiatives that are gaining traction in the marketplace.

During 2018, We have had great success with the expansion of our sales in the AOI segment, nearly doubling our sales from 2017 and winning some substantial worldwide evaluations for 3D Inspection. Other segments of our division has also experienced significant growth from the previous year, showing a positive trend of investment worldwide in SMT Sales.

In addition, we have dramatically improved our sales and service presence in the Americas by the addition of salespeople as well as the investment in two additional USA demo sites by our channel partner, Trans-Tec America.

With sustained and substantial development in new technologies and software, Yamaha is making a considerable investment in the future of SMT solutions for the market. Look for our grand opening of our new demo and training facility in Marietta, GA in Q1 2019. This facility will double our current size, allowing for an dramatic increase in our demonstration, testing and training capabilities.

In addition, Yamaha in the US is in the final stages of assembling an entire staff of industry-seasoned Applications Engineers to work with our customers on emerging technologies and customized solutions.