Ricoh President Masamitsu Sakurai (L) with Hitachi President Etsuhiko Shoyama
Ricoh and Hitachi have announced that they have signed a basic agreement that will see Hitachi transfer all its shares of Hitachi Printing Solutions, a 100 per cent owned subsidiary, to Ricoh. Ricoh says it is committed to strengthening its printer business, an important pillar of its growth strategy. To this end, Ricoh will strengthen product lines for the office colour printer market, printers for mission-critical systems and print-on-demand markets, in which Ricoh is yet to participate. In addition, Ricoh will enhance IT sales channels on top of its conventional copier marketing channels. Through these initiatives, Ricoh will push "Total Document Volume" as the strategic objective of its imaging solutions business.
The participation of Hitachi Printing Solutions in the Ricoh group will not only create synergistic effects in the areas of technology, products and human resources for Ricoh printer business but also contribute to increasing Ricoh’s corporate value.
Net sales of Hitachi Printing Systems for the fiscal year ending March 2004 are estimated at $758,000. The completion of the transfer is expected in October 2004, with impact of Ricoh’s fiscal results for the full year period ending March 31, 2005 dependant on the result of current negotiations.
