On May 19, Ricoh and Toshiba Tec announced the upcoming integration of their production divisions for copiers, MFPs and other office machines. First reported by Nikkei.com on May 18, the report was later confirmed in a Ricoh press release and a Toshiba press conference the next day.
The integration, expected to commence in the second calendar quarter of 2024, will, per Ricoh, “be implemented mainly by an absorption-type split in order to succeed Ricoh’s business and Toshiba Tec’s business to Ricoh Technologies Company, Ltd., a subsidiary company of Ricoh in Japan. The investment ratio in the JV after the integration will be 85% by Ricoh and 15% by Toshiba Tec.”
Citing the effects of a downward trend in print volumes and the transition to digital transformation, Ricoh notes, “As the competitive landscape shifts from providing standalone hardware to solutions combined with software and services, a common challenge has become a growing competitiveness in the development and production of printing devices … .” It notes the companies “will work on joint planning and developing of new solutions to support customers’ DX by integrating image recognition technology utilizing Toshiba Tec’s barcode printer, RFID, etc., and Ricoh’s optical and image processing technologies, such as cameras and projectors.”
Ricoh provided a graphic representation of the planned split:
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