Over 60 years ago a Japanese visionary and serial inventor Yo Sato formed a company that has been an instrumental vehicle for new products ever since. Due to his tireless efforts and philosophy of ceaseless innovation he developed the first hand labeller the first thermal transfer printer and the first OEM print engine products that are still used to this day.

Today SATO is a worldwide corporation focused on strong customer support to match its culture of innovation.

Corporate History

• 1951 The company is renamed SATO Bamboo Manufacturing Machinery Co Ltd and restructured as a joint-stock company (with a capital of ¥300000)
• 1953 SATO exports Bamboo-Processing Machinery mostly to Southeast Asia
• 1958 Automatic package-tying machinery is developed
• 1961 SATO pioneers the introduction of the first hand labeller in 1962
• 1964 Label manufacturing commences
• 1969 A distribution network for SATO hand labellers is established in Europe and the U.S.A
• 1974 The innovative hand labeller for POS applications is developed. SATO Corporation’s US office is opened in New York
• 1978 SATO Corporation's European office is opened in Brussels Belgium
• 1981 SATO invents the world’s first thermal transfer label printer
• 1984 The world’s 1st OEM label printer module is developed. The European representative office relocates to Düsseldorf in Germany
• 1986 Productionmoves from Japan to Malaysia. The world's 1st label printer capable of a 100 mm/sec print speed is launched
• 1987 SATO America Barcode SATO Singapore and Barcode SATO Malaysia are established
• 1990 SATO Corporation is registered on the stock exchange
• 1996 SATO Corporation acquires Nor Systems (SATO UK Ltd)
• 1997 SATO Corporation is elected to 1st level of Tokyo Stock Exchange
• 1998 SATO Corporationmoves into a new headquarters building in Tokyo
• 2000 SATO UK is established
• 2002 Barcode SATO International is set-up in Singapore to co-ordinate SATO’s global sales and marketing strategies. A new global SATO logo and corporate image is launched SATO Polska SATO Shanghai and Barcode SATO Thailand are established.
• 2003 SATO moves its European HQ SATO Europe NV to Brussels Belgium. The national office SATO Germany is set-up dedicated to Germany
• 2006 SATO Australia and SATO New Zealand are established.

Today SATO has global operations that employ in excess of 3300 employees based in 24 countries and continues it’s history of achievement and commitment to the betterment of society through revolutionary products and innovative solutions.

SATO New Zealand

In January 2006 SATO acquired several key market leaders in Australasia to further it’s goals of expansion into these markets.  In New Zealand and Australia SATO acquired the barcoding business of Checkpoint which included the iconic kiwi brand Quik Stik International who pioneered the label industry in New Zealand almost 50 years ago.

SATO also acquired Walker Datavision one of New Zealand’s foremost providers of data capture solutions and consumables. Walker Datavision was a pioneer of traceability solutions in New Zealand, building these solutions originally for the dairy industry in the early 1990’s, and later for manufacturing industries throughout New Zealand.

As a result of the expertise gained from Walker Datavision’s experience in traceability solutions, SATO New Zealand released the world’s first affordable and productised traceability solution in December 2007. Label&Track is the culmination of 20 years experience in traceability engineering, and it has broken the cost barriers to world class functionality.

SATO New Zealand is truly an end to end solution provider today, with products including Prime Labels, Barcode Printers and Consumables, Label Design Software, Handheld Terminals, Mobile Computers, Wireless Infrastructure, RFID Solutions, Supply Chain Labelling, Print Engines, Print and Apply Systems, RF Site Surveys, Variable Print Bureau and Technical Service and Support.

Development and Innovation

As part of the wider global SATO organisation we have access to developing technologies such as RFID, linerless paper and software solutions

Over the years Sato New Zealand, previously Quik Stik International, has developed and introduced the following innovative products:

• Print variable data in line on our presses
• Pioneered the pre-paid courier ticket
• Designed and developed on pack promotion labels
• Developed, in association with MAF, a system to uniquely identify pelts through the tannery process
• Developed security features built into the forms used for meat exports
• Worked with clients on developing new laminates to meet their needs
• Developed a hang sell label for automatic application onto the finished product
• Developed software to manage client’s variable data requirements
• Developed software to record serial numbers packed into cartons, record any missing numbers then generate a single barcode containing this data
• Manufactured the first palpable log tag for the timber industry
• Developed the first recyclable label for Fonterra Co-Operative Group
• Developed the first productised traceability solution in the New Zealand market Label & Track

Our commitment to our customers is to continue to research and introduce new technologies in the spirit of innovation.