The OEM has announced that it will build a new premises in Shiojiri, Japan.
The new build will commence in the first six months of 2018, and will be producing PrecisionCore printheads which are used in Epson’s inkjet printers, announced Epson in a press release. The company’s research and development will “drive advances in production engineering” as well as other areas which will “triple Epson’s current printhead production”.
The size of the building will be 10,451 square metres on a site of 46,036 square metres, and will be a steel-framed earthquake-resistant five-floor building. Epson’s main office at Hirooka is involved with all of its production sites worldwide, and all research and development for production technology is shared to the overseas sites to get the best manufacturing competence across the Epson Group. Epson said that the investment in the new factory is part of its plans to reinforce its production, research and development platform through to the 2020 fiscal year.
The new factory will not only manufacture the PrecisionCore printheads, but the core devices in business inkjet printers, high capacity ink tank printers and commercial and industrial printers as well. Epson said that it has seen a steady annual growth in the demand from the “office market”, and that the high capacity ink tank printers released in 2010 “meet the needs of customers for low cost prints”, and have “sold 15 million units worldwide”.