Top Message

Ricoh was established in 1936 to manufacture and market sensitized paper. The company then took the market by storm with cameras. We then expanded our business domain from “Ricopy” diazo copying machines to today's digital multi function printers (MFPs) while extending our core technologies. Seventy years of technical innovation have spawned a variety of technologies, including chemical materials, optics, mechatronics, image processing, communication, semiconductors, software, and manufacturing. We have built advanced technologies in turn, by integrating all those technologies. We have promoted an innovative measure to commercialize these new technologies, which we call the "production engineering (monozukuri)" process. An example is the development of our unique three-dimensional simulator for visualization through cooperation with our design and production divisions. These technologies and activities support the realization of "Create without Making," (a method of reducing the need for prototypes through the use of advanced CAD and simulation technologies) which has been reforming the way we develop products at Ricoh. Ricoh has worked hard to improve office productivity through imaging technology. Now, our imaging technology has been integrated with information technology; and we aim to facilitate the knowledge creation process as a core technology of the information society through office digitization and networking.

We are devoted to developing innovative technology to build a comfortable office environment in the 21st century, and are working hard to provide new customer value. We have defined “Ricoh Brand Benefits” that only we can provide and are promoting technology development that will yield outstanding products and services that delight our customers.

• Harmonize with the environment: Contributing to global environmental protection through Ricoh products and services. Also helping customers reduce their eco-foot print.
• Simplify your life and work: Anyone can enjoy the functionality and efficiency of Ricoh products and services.
• Support knowledge management: We support the customer's value creation process by streamlining and facilitating knowledge sharing. We share our own operational and structural know-how with customers.

Preserving the environment is of paramount importance to us. We have already developed and introduced energy and resource saving technologies across all business processes (production, physical distribution, sale, etc.) and products. Eliminating waste in the production process not only reduces costs but also lowers environmental impact. Beyond that, we can help customers reduce their environmental load by providing products and services with low environmental impact, while achieving our own growth through the support returned by customers. We are actively promoting, for example, the development of alternative materials using biomass resins for components, frames, and toner as well. Our development approach also covers technologies for reducing the consumption of new resources, such as recycling, downsizing and extending the life of our products, and the use of energy-saving devices. To reconcile preservation of the global environment with economic development, innovative development of low environmental impact technology is needed; it is entirely different from the extension of present lines. We are eagerly promoting technology development that leads to the realization of a sustainable society, fully utilizing interdisciplinary technologies, and adding new areas of research.