Epson Corporation will invest approximately KES 4.2 billion [5.1 billion Yen] in a new inkjet printhead factory at Tohoku Epson. Construction began on June 15, 2024, and completion is expected by September 2025. This facility will quadruple Tohoku Epson’s current printhead production capacity.
Mukesh Bector, Epson’s Regional Head for East and West Africa, highlighted the facility’s role in promoting innovation and environmental sustainability. The factory will feature advanced processes that save manpower and space, minimize in-process inventory, use automated transfer robots, and have an efficient layout to reduce workload.
Epson’s print solutions business, based on Micro Piezo inkjet technology, serves office, home, commercial, and industrial markets. The company anticipates sustained global demand for inkjet printers, driven by high-speed office units and high-capacity ink tank printers for homes and offices in emerging markets and North America. The shift from analog to digital in commercial and industrial printing, including digital textile printing, further boosts demand. PrecisionCore MicroTFP printheads, adaptable for various applications, support this technology shift.
Epson expects growth in the use of PrecisionCore printheads in commercial and industrial printers and high-speed linehead multifunction printers. The company is strengthening its printhead sales to expand digital printing applications, which are more environmentally friendly than traditional printing. Epson seeks to collaborate with partners to explore new ideas and technologies for PrecisionCore technology.
Bector emphasized that the new factory will significantly boost production capacity, meeting the global demand for high-speed and high-capacity printers, including in Africa.
Tohoku Epson has manufactured printheads since 1995 and launched PrecisionCore printhead production in 2013. The new factory, alongside the recently completed Akita Epson Building No. 10, will expand back-end production capacity. The Hirooka Office in Nagano Prefecture will increase micro-TFP print chip production over the next three years, with the new factory accommodating this growth.
To ensure stable production, Tohoku Epson will allocate different models to its two sites, while both sites can flexibly adapt to production fluctuations. This will strengthen Epson’s product lineup in response to future demand for PrecisionCore-equipped inkjet printers.
The new factory, the first since 1997, aims to limit noise and ensure safety by shortening the construction period. As a corporate citizen, Tohoku Epson strives to contribute to the local community’s development and harmony.
