European office

Kicking off an aggressive campaign of international exposure, Kaypro participated in Micro Expo '83, a major computer trade show held in Paris. Located at the entrance at the show, and with the biggest booth physically, Kaypro attracted huge amounts of attention.

What particularly impressed the Europeans were the keyboards designed for their specific languages, French, German, and Spanish, complete with accent marks. Kaypro is one the first major manufacturers of microcomputers to showcase foreign keyboards. The amber screen, soon to be required by Germany, was available, as were translated user's guides and promotional material. A Swedish keyboard also being developed.

Micro Expo was sponsored by SYBEX, a computer book publishing company headquartered in France, and ran June 14-18. David Kay, vice-president of marketing, and Henry Hester, promotions manager, "worked the booth" along with Jim Novack and Art Tonnaer. Over 50 prospective dealers in France alone were interviewed.

The Paris show is only the most visible part of an intense effort by our International Sales dept. to plant Kaypro firmly in Europe. Americans aren't the only ones caught up the computer craze! Art Tonnaer, Int'l Marketing Manager, has just returned from establishing our Kaypro Europe office. It will be in Maastricht, a town in Holland near the German-Belgian border.

PartsBank International, B.V. is the bonded warehouse where Kaypros will be stored waiting distribution to dealers throughout Europe. Being bonded means that no custom duties are paid till the merchandise leaves the warehouse. PartsBank takes care of all of the shipping details, and all of the paperwork. Tentative plans are to ship one 40' container load (approx. 500 computers) a month, and more as needed, this year and 3-4 loads per month in 1984.

An "international kit" will be available in August for U.S. dealers. It will include a foreign-language keyboard, two EPROMSs, a translated software package, brochures, and a foreign electrical plug.
(CommuniKay, August 1983>