Ricoh Establishes a New Company for Processing and Marketing Thermal Transfer Ribbons in Indonesia

OREANDA-NEWS. June 26, 2015. Ricoh Company, Ltd. has established P.T. Ricoh Thermal Media East Asia Pacific (hereinafter "RTM-EAP"), a company responsible for local slit operations* and marketing of thermal transfer ribbons across the country, in Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia. RTM-EAP will start business on July 1, 2015 with capital of 15 billion Indonesian rupiah (about 140 million yen). The investment ratio is 99% Ricoh, and 1% Ricoh Asia Pacific.

*Slit operations: The process of cutting and processing thermal transfer ribbons of whole rolls for end products

In the Thermal Media Business, Ricoh develops, produces and markets durable, high-value-added thermal paper used mainly for barcodes and thermal transfer ribbons used for production control as well as logistics and inventory control, such as for food POS, and the company has earned a large share of the market in many regions around the world. As for China and other Asian countries, which are growing rapidly, Ricoh entered the Chinese market in 1997 and the Indian market in 2012 and is aggressively pursuing business in these markets.

Indonesia is expected to become the largest country in terms of consumption in the ASEAN region in the future. With the expansion of consumption, the demand for barcode labels is expected to grow significantly from now on. Ricoh will launch local slit operations as one of the earliest manufacturers doing so, enabling the company to provide products used for industrial applications, foods and logistics that meet local customer needs in size and environment-resistant characteristics.

In addition in other ASEAN markets, which are predicted to expand similarly, Ricoh will accelerate its business by establishing a customer-oriented production and marketing structure centered on Indonesia.