I had an older J series IHI which was a mid 1990's made machine. That machine had 4 pumps, and I thought then and even years later would say that the multifunctioning and feel of that machine is as good as any mini I have run (and I have run many). I base my decision off a now old machine but thought that machine was certainly at that time, exceptional in the way it operated. I haven't run one since the early 20's and it was a 80NX. They are true Japanese machine sin my view, that have little NA influence especially inside the cab. The results of that is a very spartan interior. Purely functional, no fluff, no additional comfort features like you see in other machines. I assume Kato, which is as I understand solely a name change, that the IHI philosophy still continues. That said, I haven't run a newer IHI/Kato. I received great service from CES when I owned one. However, dealer support has always been the issue with IHI/Kato, the machines themselves, from a functionality standpoint could and I assume still can, run with anything on the market.