The OPC manufacturer has cited “increasing price competition” and “decreasing print volumes” as its reasons for “step[ping] out [of] the OPC market”.
In a letter to customers and business partners, the company’s Managing Director Bart Vaessen outlines that the twin factors of falling print volumes “in the document printing segment” and “overcapacity worldwide” for OPC photoconductor drums have led to “continuous[ly] increasing price competition” in the market, particularly the “high volume/low priced spectrum”.
Vaessen notes that this “evolution” in the market, coupled with an “anticipated negative outlook” for HITEC’s OPC business “in the near future” has forced the company to “reconsider our business options, and have led to the decision to step out [of] the OPC market and discontinue the production of OPC photoconductor drums”.
He adds that the company, “one of the oldest, high quality OPC producers in the market and the only remaining OPC manufacturer in the western world”, is to withdraw from the market, and wants to thank “all of our valued customers and business partners for their long-standing relationship with us in those many years” in business.
The withdrawal from the market was officially announced on 30 September 2013, and Vaessen notes that it will follow a “step-by-step approach”, with manufacturing to have “completely ceased” towards the end of Q2 2014. Until then, and as of this moment, “all our services, including production and delivery, continue as usual”.
In a final comment, Vaessen adds that the company “regret[s] having no better information to share”, and that if any customers should have any questions “regarding continuation of supply” for OPCs, they should “not hesitate to contact us”.