From May 13~15 Argox invited our partners from countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) to attend our first EMEA conference in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. Partners from 25 countries joined us for the special river cruise and distributors’ conference. The gathering was a great success as our distributors got to know each other and compared notes, all while enjoying the river sights of Prague.

Besides our product introductions, Argox presented awards to two distributors who have surpassed sales of US$1 million. The highlight of the conference featured presentations from these award-winning distributors as they shared their experience and encouragement.

For Argox, we benefited from a lot of good feedback on how we can improve our products. Suggestions we are paying close attention to include Ethernet, RFID, and mobile printing solutions.

We also heard many good comments on the Esplanade Hotel where we stayed. Located in the center of town, it was an ideal location for sightseeing. The restaurants in Prague were also outstanding, and during dinner we celebrated the birthdays of Mrs. Zümral Erciyas our partner from Turkey, and Mr. Claus Schaeffer, our partner from Germany.

Our special thanks go to Codeware, our Czech distributor, for their wonderful support as they provided help in all aspects of the event. We also wish to thank all of our partners for your support and for making this a truly special event. Stay tuned, we’re already thinking about where to hold next year’s EMEA conference.

From April 18th to May 18th, our Argox sales team traveled to South America visiting partners and dealers in five countries: Columbia, Peru, Chile, Brazil, and Argentina. Our team included Angela, Vera, and Nelson, who met with customers to provide new product demonstrations, technical training, and to gain first-hand experience with South American markets.

Our South American customers liked the new improved mechanisms and USB interface on the X-1000v, X-2000v, and OS-214 plus printers. They also liked our portable data terminals. We appreciate their helpful advice and their good comments on Argox technical support's fast response to questions and problems. Argox encourages our customers to always contact us if there is a problem. We value their opinions highly and will do our best to help with any issues. One of the great benefits of meeting face-to-face with customers is that communication becomes easier once we get to know each other. We let our customers know we are there to support them if they ever have any product issues.

Our team was impressed by the hospitality they received in all the countries visited. This was the first time an Argox sales team has visited Columbia, and they found it very charming, quite unlike what people see in the Hollywood movies. In Brazil, the people were warm as always, and our team was advised to keep a sweater and an umbrella in the car since the weather was so variable. Chile was a lot like Europe and the environment very peaceful. In Argentina our partner hosted the team in a beautiful park, which was actually the site of the company. Our partner in Peru is very knowledgeable about Taiwan and China, and had many good questions and comments about our cross-strait relations.

This was our third road show to South America in three years, but we hope to start visiting there at least twice a year. Our next trip is scheduled for the last quarter of 2008, and we look forward to going back.

Computex is one of the world’s biggest information technology shows, and it’s held every year right here in Taipei, the home of Argox headquarters. One of the great advantages of having Computex in our own backyard is that we often see friends who are in town for the show. This year during the first week of June, we had many visitors come to see us. Some of the countries they came from include Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Thailand, Russia, Middle East, and Europe. A nice coincidence was our partner from Turkey who ran into our partner from South Africa. They had just met two weeks earlier in Prague. It’s a small world after all.

Last month, Terry Wang, an Argox technical support engineer, rode his bike around the island of Taiwan. Traveling clockwise around the coast, Terry and two friends from college spent seven days making the 1,089 kilometer journey.

The trip was quite an accomplishment since Taiwan's mountainous terrain offers many hills to climb. There was also a bit of rain, since this is the plum rain season. But many people helped along the way, and in the evening they would enjoy the local restaurants and stay at an inn or with relatives. It was a great way to spend a vacation, and the whole trip was a bargain, costing the three friends only US$130 each.

Congratulations, Terry! And thanks for your inspiration!