Ricoh Shifts Chinese Production of Key Multifunctional Printers to Thailand

TOKYO, May 16, 2019 – Ricoh Company, Ltd. announced today that it will shift production of its key MFP portfolio destined for the USA market to Thailand, to hedge any risk associated with the US-China trade issue.

Ricoh has been strengthening its Business Continuity Plan as a part of its global production strategy and is in parallel manufacturing key products in its portfolio at several production sites across the world. By doing so, it has now many common parts and has further optimized its supply chain management. Based on these initiatives, the shift will be made in about 2 months from now and there will be no big changes to overall production volumes in either China or Thailand.

This decision was made in response to the announcement of List 4 of Section 301 Tariffs by the US government. By shifting production from China to Thailand, Ricoh is trying to minimize the impact of this sanction.

Currently, Ricoh Asia Industry (Shenzhen) Ltd. is producing the higher-speed models of its key MFP portfolio, whereas Ricoh Manufacturing (Thailand) Ltd. is producing the lower-to-mid-speed models. By shifting the Chinese production to Thailand, all the key MFP products will be shipped to the USA from the Thai factory.

Moving forward, Ricoh will continue to investigate the possible shift of other products and related parts and supplies, with a view to optimizing the supply chain system. This may further include a shift from Thailand to China in response to possible business risks, and to achieve even greater efficiencies.