Hoshan widens portfolio

Hoshan has agreed an exclusive deal with printing vendor Xerox to distribute the vendor’s range of wide format printers in the UAE. Hoshan will supply products through its sub-distributor Hoshan and Herman Miller Office Products (also known as H2O in the UAE), selling Xerox printers ranging from 36” to 60” in width. It hopes to expand its distribution rights to other countries at a later date.

“We are the right printer specialist to introduce these printers due to our extensive market spread and coverage. We have been established in this area for seven years. Hoshan is very much teaming up with Xerox to share its knowledge, marketing, support aspects and experience,” said Fady Tabet, business unit manager at Hoshan Trading.

“Xerox recognises that there are some areas where we do not have strong representation. As a result we regularly partner with companies who have strong relationships within certain sectors of the market. A good example of this is Hoshan Trading,” said Chris Govier, production business manager for distributor operations at Xerox International.

Hoshan currently distributes Mutoh large format printers in the Middle East, covering both indoor and outdoor oil and ink-based printers. It claims that the new Xerox products are the missing link in its current portfolio.

“Above 60” printers the Mutoh range takes over. The Xerox machines offer great quality and have the advantage of speed. The wide format Xerox printers can do 10 to 12 square metres per hour,” explained Tabet.

Tabet says that more companies are turning back to in-house printing solutions as they are dissatisfied with outsourcing to copy shops and find the long term advantages of investing in their own printing solution outweighs the costs.

“The wide format market is a great area that is growing in the Middle East by around 15% to 20% per year. We are hoping to sell at least 30 of the Xerox range of printers in the next year,” he added.

Hoshan hails from Saudi Arabia and is one of the largest printing distributors in the region. Its relationship with Xerox originated from a distribution deal for Iraq where it supplies the complete range of the vendor’s products. The distributor covers the entire region and has two offices in the UAE, including its regional stocking point in Jebel Ali.