OREANDA-NEWS. August 3, 2012. Ricoh Company, Ltd. (President and CEO: Shiro Kondo; hereinafter "Ricoh") has decided to reorganize its domestic design and manufacturing functions. Specifically, the functions of designing and manufacturing imaging equipment hitherto assumed by Ricoh's affiliated manufacturing companies and parts of Ricoh itself will be integrated into two separate companies — one responsible for design and the other for production — that will be newly established in April 2013.

As the Ricoh Group faces radical changes in the business environment, such as a stronger yen and tougher global competition, it is in the process of restructuring itself into a highly competitive organization that can continue to grow even in such a climate. The reorganization is aimed at reinforcing the Ricoh Group's design and manufacturing functions for imaging equipment in order to simultaneously achieve three objectives: 1) to continue to create products and services that offer new customer value, 2) to strengthen our ability to manufacture products that outperform the competition in the global marketplace, and 3) to acquire the ability to design and manufacture products at costs lower than the competition.

The processes for establishing the new companies, their names and other details will be announced as soon as they are worked out.