Obun Hawaii employees
buy out company

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By Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.com

Obun Hawaii Group, a Hawaii company known for most of its 31 years as a printer and publisher of Japanese-language materials, has arranged an employee buyout from it Japanese owner, Obun Printing Co. in Tokyo.

The purchase, for an undisclosed amount, includes the two-story building and printing plant on Waimanu Street in Kakaako.

Don Ojiri, president of Obun Hawaii Group, said the company has more than 40 employees who are now owners through an employee stock option plan. Obun offers a wide range of scanning, digital proofing, color printing, bindery and other services related to printing in English, as well as its traditional Japanese translating and publishing business.

Ojiri said he was glad the transaction went through because it was hard to achieve. He also said the company has moved a long way from its purely Japanese origins and is now a full-on competitive printing and publishing business.

It is a one-stop shop offering a wide range of advertising, creative and other services. Among its non-Japanese business, it is the publisher of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii's Business Networking Directory, the BusGuide and other publications.

Obun Hawaii Group started in 1970 as a joint venture of Obun Printing in Japan and Servco Pacific in Hawaii. In 1974, the Japan side took full control of the company. Ojiri joined the local company in 1982 as controller and has been president since 1992.

Obun now is an employee-owned business that does commercial printing, publishing, Japanese translation, graphic and interactive design, advertising media sales and mailing services.