Konica Minolta has confirmed its production at the Tatsuno factory will resume on 8 November
Photo Konica Minolta
Konica Minolta on 19 October confirmed that production at the Tatsuno factory would resume on 8 November, as planned. In an update issued in late September, the company had mentioned 8 November as the tentative restart date. In a statement issued on 18 October, the company incorrectly noted the production resumption date as 18 November. The Tatsuno factory produces toners for on-demand digital printing systems.
“When this notice was first published on 18 October, the date for Tatsuno factory to restart production was incorrectly noted as 18 November. The correct date of Tatsuno factory’s resuming production is 8 November,” the company said.
Kofu factory, after suspending its operation since the accident in August at Tatsuno Factory, resumed toner production on 18 October. Before restarting production, the factory completed its risk assessments on the safety measures by experts without a problem.
Konica Minolta said the group takes the accidents seriously and will continue to strive to ensure the community’s safety.
“At the same time, we would like to express our sincere apologies for the accidents, which caused concerns and inconvenience to our customers due to a shortage in the supply of toners. We also ask for understanding and support as we work to resume production in the future,” it said.
On 12 August, an accident occurred at the Tatsuno factory of Konica Minolta Supplies Manufacturing. In July, a fire had broken out at the same factory.
Indian market pretty much unaffected by Tatsuno factory incident
Indian Printer and Publisher spoke to Kuldeep Malhotra,deputy managing director and director (board of directors) at Konica Minolta Business Solutions India, earlier this month regarding the toner supply situation in India.
On 11 October 2021, Malhotra responded, “It is true that we had an accident at our factory where toner is being produced. The investigation is concluded to ascertain the reason for the fire at our factory. We are trying to get back to work very soon. The factory will start production from the mid of October. For the Indian market, we don’t have many challenges since we carry enough stock to cater to the needs of the Indian market for the coming months. We are comfortable and will continue to cater to the requirements of our customers.”
2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India
Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and
multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.
The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry.
While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately
their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book
printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.
The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.
Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.
Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.
Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.
