Calsonic Kansei North America - Intermec

Case study
Calsonic Kansei
North America
Long-time customer
selects printer
for rugged design
and reliability
At a glance
Industry: Industrial Goods
Market: Automotive
Applications: Manufacturing
and Warehouse Operations
Product: Intermec PM4i
Mid-Range Printers
Program Results: To upgrade from its
legacy bar code label printer, Calsonic
Kansei North America selected the
Intermec PM4i Mid-Range Printer for its
performance, ease-of-use and rugged
design to further improve bar code label
printing in its warehouse operations
Calsonic Kansei North America
manufactures automobile parts and
modular systems for the worldwide
market. Its offerings include front-end
and cockpit modules, as well as other
automotive products including exhaust
and air-conditioning systems and keyless
entry systems. Calsonic customers include
BMW, Ford, GM, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi
Motors, Nissan, Renault and Volkswagen.
An Intermec customer for more than 10
years, Calsonic is a long-time user of the
Intermec EasyCoder 3400 printers to
generate bar code labels for its warehouse
and manufacturing operations. When the
3400 printers were discontinued in 2007,
Calsonic needed to identify a replacement
that could provide the same performance,
ease-of-use and reliability and would
not cause any business disruption during
the transition. The company chose the
Intermec PM4i, a network-ready, midrange
industrial printer designed to excel in
demanding applications and environments.
With five interface ports that can be
utilized at once, integrated Ethernet and
secure wireless connectivity, the PM4i
is designed to meet the advanced needs
of today’s manufacturing operations.
For Calsonic, the PM4i was the ideal
choice because of its ability to understand
and replace older Intermec printers
without requiring any changes to the host
programming or label formats being used.
As their fleet of 150 Intermec 3400 printers
need replacement, the PM4i printers
will take their place at various Calsonic
locations including Tennessee, Mississippi,
Michigan, California and Mexico.
“We’ve always had a positive experience
with our Intermec products and service,
making it a straightforward decision to
continue working with them and upgrade
to their latest industrial printer,” said Kris
Williams, senior manager, IT, Calsonic.
“Further, because all of our source coding
is written for the 3400, the fact that
it is compatible with the PM4i printer
was a key factor in our decision.”
Built to Withstand Harsh Conditions
Bar codes are an integral element of
Calsonic’s operations, so it is essential for
the company to employ printers that not
only produce accurate labels in a timely,
efficient manner, but are also built to
withstand the elements of a demanding
environment. Calsonic manufacturing

plants do not have air conditioning or
heat, so temperature extremes are
common in winter and summer. The
PM4i printer was the ideal choice because
its industrial design and heavy-duty
metal construction was specifically built
to withstand taxing environments.
“In our environment, we really put our
printers through a good survival test,” said
Amy Clark, IT supervisor, Calsonic. “We
found the 3400 printers to be extremely
durable, but we are now finding that the
PM4i printers are even more so. This is
important because our printers are not
simply sitting on a desk. They are placed
in a manufacturing environment enduring
intense activity 24 hours a day. We
know that when using Intermec printers,
we will receive high quality output no
matter the external conditions.”
A Value Added Printer
While Calsonic enjoyed the functionality
and performance of the 3400 printers,
the company is experiencing additional
key benefits as they continue the PM4i
rollout. One major benefit is that the cover
on the PM4i is attached by hinges and
is not removable, thus minimizing dirt
and new maintenance issues. Another
advantage is that the PM4i printer keypad
interface, which enables operators to
easily program the printer when changes
are needed, can also be locked to avoid
accidental input – a feature that reduces
maintenance demands and ensures
uninterrupted production. Lastly, because
PM4i printers come equipped with
standard network connectivity, they are
ready to work right out of the box, saving
setup time and trouble for IT resources.
A Smooth Migration
The migration to the new printers has
been seamless, and the company is
finding them to be as dependable and
easy to use as expected. Calsonic is also
pleased that operational productivity
has been steadily maintained without
any major business disruptions or
down time during the transition.
“We’ve always had great support and
success with Intermec,” concluded Clark.
“Because of this, upgrading to the PM4i
was a practical decision for our company.
This migration is going exceptionally well
and we look forward to our continued
business partnership with Intermec.”
North America
Corporate Headquarters
6001 36th Avenue West
Everett, Washington 98203
Phone: (425) 348-2600
Fax: (425) 355-9551
South America & Mexico
Headquarters Office
Rua Samuel Morse,
120—9 o . Andar
Brooklin - 04576-060
São Paulo/SP —BRAZIL
Phone: +55 11 5502.6770
Fax: +55 11 5502.6780
www.intermec.com.br
Europe/Middle East &
Africa Headquarters Office
Reading, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 118 923 0800
Fax: +44 118 923 0801
Asia Pacific
Headquarters Office
Singapore
Phone: +65 6303 2100
Fax: +65 6303 2199
Internet
www.intermec.com
Worldwide Locations:
www.intermec.com/locations
Sales
Toll Free NA: (800) 934-3163
Toll in NA: (425) 348-2726
Freephone ROW: 00 800 4488 8844
Toll ROW: +44 134 435 0296
OEM Sales
Phone: (425) 348-2762
Media Sales
Phone: (513) 874-5882
Customer Service and Support
Toll Free NA: (800) 755-5505
Toll in NA: (425) 356-1799
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rights reserved. Intermec is a registered trademark of Intermec
Technologies Corporation. All other trademarks are the
property of their respective owners. Printed in the U.S.A.
611925-01A 02/09
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