June 26, 2006—At a press conference in Las Vegas earlier this month, Ricoh Corp. debuted a host of new products and reaffirmed its position in the market. The firm noted that in the last year, overall company revenue grew 5–6 percent to $17 billion, and in the Americas it grew 8 percent to $3 billion, with both the multi-function printer (MFP) color and black-and-white categories seeing growth. Ricoh noted that it holds the number one position in market share for black-and-white units for the fourth year in a row, and the number one position in color MFPs for the third year in a row.

Corporate Changes
In addition to the healthy showing in numbers for hardware, Ricoh showed a strong year in services—solutions accounted for $650 million last year—with that category growing at a pace that warranted giving it a separate division. The Document Solutions and Services Division (DSSD) will be coordinated as a single entity, but will operate as two distinct groups within the Japanese headquarters and U.S. subsidiary. Hede Nonaka, vice president of marketing for Ricoh Corp., will become general manager of DSSD/Japan, as well as the senior vice president of DSSD/U.S.

"We are very excited about the formation of DSSD, and the promises it holds for the future direction of the company. We see the continued development and expansion of value-added solutions and services as the future, not only for Ricoh, but also for our industry," said Mr. Nonaka.

In addition, the company has begun the process of consolidating the back office operations of the U.S. division and Lanier Worldwide Inc., in anticipation of a future consolidation. The consolidation begins with the back-office and revenue support functions, and takes place in two distinct areas, a corporate unit and a business unit.

"These changes are being made now to prepare Ricoh for the future. Having just completed our most successful year ever...we are making these changes from a position of strength in preparing for the future," said Sam Ichioka, chairman and CEO, Ricoh Corp. "The goal of these changes is to drive revenue growth, improve efficiency and customer satisfaction, and strengthen Ricoh's position as a leader in the document solutions marketplace by leveraging the diverse skills and strengthens of Ricoh and Lanier."

Production Quality
Of particular interest for the commercial print market was the new Aficio MP900/MP1100/MP1350 series. With a top output speed of 135 pages per minute (ppm), these machines provide shops with a quick, inexpensive copy/print option to offer clients.

These systems are built to sustain the demands of high-volume print environments. Users can simplify last-second adjustments such as creep (shifting images slightly in the middle of booklets to improve readability); mixing one- and two-sided originals; and using Bates numbering. Additionally, multiple sheets in the feed system are automatically identified and removed before they can cause problems to allow users to copy at high resolutions. The series can handle paper up to 13x18", and up to 80-lb. cover, including recycled, pre-punched, card stock, bond, transparencies, and tab stock. The Aficio MP9000/MP1100/MP1350 series is available in a variety of configurations.

Ricoh also announced that it has been awarded the silver 2006 Brandweek Customer Loyalty Award in the office copier category, which measures a brand's ability to meet or exceed customer expectations. The winners are identified by the results of the annual Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Index, which surveys 16,200 consumers about 222 brands in 35 categories.

"Receiving this award is one more example of Ricoh's unwavering commitment to our customers and developing solutions that best meet their changing needs," said Hugh Urabe, vice president, marketing. "We are pleased to be recognized... for fulfilling our promise of providing flexible, high-quality office solutions."