Inkjet & Digital Printing

Ricoh: Situation of our production sites following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Monday 28. March 2011 - The following is a recovery forecast for our production sites in the affected areas of Tohoku and Kanto.

Ricoh Optical Industries Co., Ltd. (Hanamaki, Iwate), and Hasama Ricoh, Inc. (Tome, Miyagi)
Basic services infrastructure (electricity, gas, water supply) has almost recovered in the region. In our facilities there, we suffered some damage to plant equipment, though not major. Following inspections of the production facilities, some operations and shipping have already resumed. We are working hard to assure full recovery as soon as possible.
However, future operations may be affected by other factors such as the fuel supply situation.
Tohoku Ricoh Co., Ltd. – (Shibata-gun, Miyagi)
The situation is such that basic services have not yet been fully reestablished in the region. Moreover, as significant equipment damage has occurred, a full recovery will take some time.
At this time, depending on the production line in question, we estimate delays of anywhere from one week to two months before the line is available again. We continue to accelerate recovery at our facilities, while looking into the feasibility of alternative sites for partial production.
Ricoh Printing Systems, Ltd. (Hitachinaka, Ibaraki)
In this region, basic services infrastructure has largely recovered, but transportation is still not one hundred percent, and so only some employees are actually able to get to work. At this plant, damage to equipment is slight but there is some damage to the buildings, and our priority is ensuring safety. A few of the lines have already resumed operation but others will require between one and four weeks depending on the line.
In addition to the above, parts procurement and fuel shortages have had a knock on effect on full recovery of operations.
As for domestic production sites outside the affected areas, operation continues subject to procurement, as well as rotating power outages. These factors are affecting stable operation.