Ricoh Australia opens Innovation Centre

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Maria Vamvakinou MP, the federal member for Calwell and chair of the House of Representatives Industry, Science and Innovation Committee, and Ricoh Australia managing director Les Richardson, the company gave an inside look at the PIC, which will be one of five centres located around the world showcasing the company's offerings.

"It's not a showroom, it's a collaboration centre," said Ricoh Australia's James Fewtrell during a private media tour of the PIC. "It's an area where customers come to get help or advice, or to brainstorm."

Photo gallery: pictures from ProPrint's tour of Ricoh's new Printing Innovation Centre in Sydney.

In mind of this, conference rooms and training facilities at the PIC are there for the use of both Ricoh staff and customers. The centre also features sophisticated Java-based video-conferencing facilities for easier communication with foreign clients.

Ricoh is also keen to emphasise the ecological strengths of the PIC, with features such as sensor-controlled lights to eliminate wastage of electricity.

Ricoh Australia has invested $3 million in building the PIC, and expects to have invested a total of $6 million in three years' time. Four other PICs have already been established in Europe, Asia and the US.

"The opening of the first PIC in Australia sends a clear signal that Australia is capable of becoming a leader in increasing the level of business information," said Richardson.

"Ricoh's strategy for its Printing Innovation Centres involves creating a network of centres of excellence in key geographies," added Majima. "This centre represents a commitment to our customers that we will continue to invest heavily in new technology and strengthen our presence in the Production Printing arena in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in Australia."

"Australia is a key strategic market for Ricoh, and our Australian business is a key contributor - not just to our global 'bottom line' - but in developing new technology applications that meet the needs of our enterprise customers around the world."

Indeed, Richardson said the company is "anticipating significant local and overseas market interest in applications developed in the PIC, with the potential for Australian solutions to be incorporated into Ricoh's global supply chain".

Richardson cited the example of ESA Transformer - which allows Ricoh devices to scan and convert images to text, and then export the files in a number of formats - a program developed by Ricoh Australia and currently being exported throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Vamvakinou, meanwhile, claimed to be "very impressed" with what she had seen at the PIC, and hailed the company's investment.

"This centre is a strong example of a multi-national company working with local small and medium enterprises to provide innovative solutions for their customers," she said at today's opening ceremony.

The company says it is moving towards a business model that involves providing software, applications development, consulting services and custom integrated solutions.

This is reflected in the PIC, which features a 12-person software development hub, as well as serving as a product sales centre for Ricoh products.

"It's great to see companies such as Ricoh investing in research and development, particularly in the current economic climate," said Vamvakinou.