A-Route, Domestic Producer of POS Printers... Targeting Reopening with Mobile and Label Printers

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Photo of Seo Mungdong-gun, CEO of Airute. [Photo by Airute]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwak Min-jae] In an era without cash, receipts represent 'trust' itself within electronic financial payment systems. The industrial mini printer market, widely used in payment, delivery, and transportation, therefore has high entry barriers in terms of technology and reliability. Airute is a company that first domestically produced POS printers and has been manufacturing industrial mini printers for over 20 years. It supplies mini printers under the ‘SEWOO’ brand to major domestic POS companies such as Hanasis and POSBank, as well as overseas firms.

Airute, a manufacturer of industrial mini printers, focuses primarily on POS printers. In August last year, Airute signed a POS printer supply contract worth 6.2 billion KRW with the largest domestic POS company. Although POS printers might seem similar to general printers commonly seen at home, the company explains that a much higher level of technology is required. Miniaturized devices demand technologies such as ‘Mecha Control,’ which adjusts the print paper to the desired speed and position, and ‘Thermal Printer Control Technology,’ which applies heat to burn thermal paper. Durability is also necessary to ensure operation without failure in dynamic environments such as various restaurants and logistics centers.

Seo Moon-dong, CEO of Airute, said, "Airute has been rigorously testing strict reliability and extreme tests to verify whether printers correctly output images and characters, as well as compatibility with protocols widely used in the global POS market, for 20 years. This has allowed us to be recognized in the demanding global industrial mini printer market."

Photo of Airoot's mobile printer. [Photo by Airoot]

Airute is aiming mobile and label printers as new growth engines beyond POS printers. Over the past three years, it has invested 4 to 5 billion KRW in developing mobile and label printer technologies. These are classified as premium product lines, priced 3 to 4 times higher than Airute’s basic product range. Mobile printers must be equipped with short-range wireless communication technologies and be capable of error-free printing via Wi-Fi. Globally, only a few companies such as Zebra, Honeywell, and TSC can produce mobile and label printers.

To target the reopening market following the endemic phase, Airute plans to launch a new ‘label printer’ product in the second half of this year. The demand for labeling in delivery and logistics has surged explosively due to the rapid growth of the contactless market. With overseas sales significantly increasing, Airute’s sales in the first quarter of this year reached 13.8 billion KRW (consolidated basis), up 71.5% compared to the same period last year.

CEO Seo stated, "Based on our research personnel who make up 30% of all employees, Airute invests 5 to 10% of annual sales in technology development every year. Within three years, we aim to increase the share of premium mobile and label printers to 50-60% of total sales and grow into a company with 70 billion KRW in sales in the industrial printer sector," expressing his ambition.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.