Note: Names of organizations, offices, departments, etc. in the article are as of when the article was first published.
Editor’s Note:
This interview was originally conducted in 2019.
Since then, T&D’s global partner network has continued to grow and evolve.
We remain committed to working closely with partners worldwide.
On a bright, cloudless afternoon in late September 2019, two well-built gentlemen stepped off the train at Matsumoto Station in Nagano Prefecture, each carrying a large suitcase and a travel bag.
They were Mr. Steve Knuth and Mr. Minoru Ito—our long-time overseas business development partners for the Americas and Europe.
As they do every year, they had come to Japan to attend T&D’s annual Global Meeting.
That year marked the 25th anniversary of the first T&D data logger. Over the years, we have steadily expanded our sales channels beyond Japan, especially into the U.S. and Europe.
Back in the early 2000s, we had a strong desire to bring the T&D data loggers we had developed to customers around the world. To build that overseas network, we partnered with two people who knew their regions inside and out: Mr. Knuth, who had previously led the U.S. sales arm of a major Japanese corporation, and Mr. Ito, who lives in Germany and had experience establishing a European office for a Japanese precision-instrument manufacturer. Together, we began growing T&D’s presence abroad.
At our Global Meetings, we discuss everything from regional market needs and product fit to future sales strategies. By the time of this interview, both Mr. Knuth and Mr. Ito had already been involved in selling T&D products for more than 15 years, so we asked them to look back on how it all began.
Mr. Knuth reflects on the early challenges in the Americas.
“In the beginning, the data logger market in the Americas was dominated by U.S. brands. Finding distributors willing to import products from Japan was a real challenge.”
It was around then, that after years of development, our early wireless data logger “the RTR-5 Series” was launched. Wireless-enabled data loggers were rare in the market at that time, and many distributors recognized the series’ high quality and reliability. Selling T&D products quickly shifted from being seen as a “challenge” to becoming a “business opportunity,” and the market began to grow steadily.
Mr. Ito also recalls the hurdles faced in Europe.
“The wireless data loggers were new and groundbreaking in Europe, too,” says Mr. Ito.
“But wireless standards were a real hurdle.”
Although the RTR-5 Series was ahead of its time, it came with challenges unique to wireless products. Each country had its own radio regulations, and determining whether certification was required meant researching every market individually. EU standards were particularly complex—rules varied between EU member states, non-member states, and candidate countries, sometimes only partially aligning—so team had to review each case one by one.
Step by step, those hurdles were cleared—laying the foundation for the global footprint we have today. This commitment to compliance and reliability has been a core principle of T&D’s global expansion.
Trusted Worldwide Across Diverse Industries
Today, T&D data loggers are used in more than 80 countries—including the U.S., Europe, and many parts of Asia.
They support critical monitoring across museums, healthcare facilities, food processing plants, logistics centers, and even aerospace programs, and are used by organizations such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, HERSHEY’S Ice Cream, and DHL Express.
Our data loggers have also contributed to public health initiatives.
They played a key role in a project led by Johns Hopkins University to help reduce health risks caused by cooking-related combustion gases in households in Peru. For more details on this project, see the related article below:
Johns Hopkins University’s Thermal Cooker Project in Peru – Promoting Good Health and Clean Air
Supporting a Global Legacy
Another example can be found in the preservation of the Space Shuttle Atlantis.
The shuttle carried the dreams and hopes of people around the world until its final mission in 2011.
After completing its work in space, Atlantis was placed on public display at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Our data loggers have been used to help manage temperature and humidity inside the exhibit—quietly supporting efforts to preserve this historic spacecraft.
Atlantis is a global legacy—one that will be remembered in human history.
We are proud that our products have played a role in its preservation, and we will continue working with partners worldwide to advance our global strategy in the years ahead.