To this end, the company is all set to plug into the sub-Rs 6000 products segments to offer a range of competitive printing solutions for the SOHO (small office home office) segment and build its market position in niche areas. The products are expected to hit the market by 2001. Also in the pipeline are Bluetooth-enabled notebook PCs.

Sharp Business Solutions is also looking at areas and applications, where better image resolution is important, to introduce its LCD technology. The medical equipment sector is thereby an important area of focus for the company.

Speaking with The Financial Express Sharp Business Systems (India) chief executive Sunil K Sinha said going by industry trends the demand for multi-function, intelligent solutions were on the rise.

"Our strategy for the Indian market is quite clear. We are looking at creating a niche for ourselves in terms of price, product range and features while we function within the main stream of printing and related products," Mr Sinha said.

The company is also currently going strong on positioning its printer products as intelligent e-networked equipment. The product range currently includes inkjets, photo printers, laser printers, printer/copiers, LCD projectors, note book PCs and facsimile machines in a price band ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 10 lakh.

``With the increasing requirement for intelligent devices, Sharp is going heavy on integrated, multi-functional products that are capable of functioning efficiently in a networked environment and in some cases even linked to the Internet,'' Mr Sinha said.

Features aimed at efficient network document management, tandem printing, new path machines, features that can help sharpen/skew/rotate/zoom images while copying or printing were some of the key benefits that Sharp products offered in the range, he added.

The company has also recently introduced a multi-function laser printer/scanner/fax integrated product that can also enable fax forwarding to e-mail. The unit is priced at Rs 50,000 and sales figures are close to 100 units per month.

``The focus is also now on extensively servicing the markets and aligning our subsidiaries in India in line with our strategy. Initiatives targeted at retailing are also being worked out to address the corporate, low end and high-end segments,'' he said.

Sharp Business Systems is targeting total revenues of Rs 50 crore this year and is expecting to cross the Rs 100 crore mark in the third year of operations.