Ricoh to invest millions in SA

Japan-based printing company Ricoh is accelerating its investment into SA, as it seeks to tap into a growth market.

The company, which was founded in 1936, in Tokyo, will increase its staff base as it rolls out three new initiatives to take advantage of growth opportunities in Africa. The new initiatives include the launch of Ricoh Capital SA, an optimised supply chain process, and infrastructure enhancements.

Richard Pinker, MD of Ricoh SA, says Africa and SA are viewed as important emerging markets and the entity is expanding in SA and investing in “quite a few initiatives”. He says the initial investment started in its IT unit, where it put in a 60Mb connection to the UK, which it will increasingly tap.

Pinker says the expanded connection came at a “hefty price tag” and provides the local unit with opportunities to expand into sub-Saharan Africa.

Ricoh specialises in office imaging equipment, production print solutions, document management systems and IT services. It operates in more than 200 countries and regions, and turned over around $23 billion in the year to March.

Locally, Ricoh SA is targeting sales growth of 22% this year and is gearing up its staff numbers, says Pinker. It will add 90 more administrative employees to the current 43 by November, while sales staff will go from 90 to 140, requiring its technical team to increase to maintain a ratio of one technician per 300 devices, he adds.

Ricoh has also set aside about R80 million to aid clients facilitate lease deals, says Pinker. The investment, handled by Ricoh Capital, will be increased as its business grows, he adds.

Ricoh has diverted stock management and distribution to Ricoh Europe's operations in the Netherlands, which has saved it R100 million that will be reinvested into infrastructure enhancements, social responsibility and skills development.

Pinker explains that its South African warehouse mirrors that of the Netherlands and is replenished on an automatic basis, so the change in stock ownership in terms of the balance sheet will not affect supply.