Konica Minolta
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| Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. コニカミノルタホールディングス |
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| Type | Corporation TYO: 4902 |
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| Founded | Osaka, Japan (1873) |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
| Key people | Yoshikatsu Ota, President & CEO |
| Industry | Imaging |
| Products | Laser printers Office equipment Photo-copiers |
| Revenue |  1,067 billion yen (2004) |
| Employees | 33,400 worldwide (as of July 2005) |
| Slogan | The essentials of imaging |
| Website | www.konicaminolta.com |
Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. (コニカミノルタホールディングス Konika Minoruta Hōrudingusu?) is a Japanese worldwide manufacturer of photo-copiers, fax machines, laser printers, medical graphic equipments, optical components and sensing meters formed by a merger between Japanese imaging firms Konica and Minolta announced on January 7, 2003. There are many branches of the company worldwide including Ramsey, New Jersey, Mobile, Alabama, Basildon, England and Missisauga, Ontario. Konica Minolta now has a wide range of imaging input/output businesses including office equipment, optical devices, medical imaging, graphic imaging and measuring instruments.
On January 19, 2006 the company announced that it was quitting the camera business due to high financial losses. SLR camera service operations will be handed to Sony starting on March 31, 2006 and Sony will develop cameras compatible with Minolta lenses. Konica Minolta will also withdraw from the photo business by September 30, 2007. 3,700 employees will be laid off. [1]
Konica Minolta will close down their photo imaging division on March 2007. This means that color film, color paper, photo chemicals and digital mini-lab machines will cease operations. The SLR digital-camera section was transferred to Sony.
However, Dai Nippon will be purchasing Konica's Odawara factory site and continue to produce paper under Dai Nippon's brand. Seapac on the other hand will acquire the Konica chemical factory.
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[edit] History
[edit] Milestones
2006: Liquidated its photography-related divisions.
2005: BERTL's Best awards for office and production printing systems and Colour Reliability; Buyers Laboratory award for "Product Line of the Year" (MFP's). Award for Dynax 7D with CCD-shift Anti-Shake.
2004: Introduction of the first bizhub branded MFP. First 105 ppm production printing system bizhub PRO 1050.
2003: Integrated the management of Konica Corporation and Minolta Co., Ltd.
[edit] Manual Focus 35mm Film SLRs
Minolta had been a competitor in the 35mm SLR market since the development of the manual-focus (MF) SRT and other models in the mid-1960s. Minolta positioned most of its cameras to compete in the amateur market, though it did produce a very high quality MF SLR in the XD-11. Minolta's last MF SLR cameras were the X370 and X700.
[edit] Autofocus 35mm Film SLRs
Until the sale of Konica Minolta's Photo Imaging unit to Sony in 2006, Konica Minolta produced the former Minolta range of 35mm autofocus single-lens reflex cameras, variously named "Minolta Maxxum" in North America, "Minolta Dynax" in Europe, and "Minolta Alpha" in Japan and the rest of Asia. This range was introduced in 1985 with the Minolta Maxxum 7000, and culminated with the Maxxum 7 and 9. The final Minolta 35mm SLR AF cameras were the Maxxum 50 and 70, built in China.
[edit] Digital cameras
Until recently, Konica Minolta had a line of digital point and shoot cameras to compete in the digital photography market. Their DiMage line included digital cameras and imaging software as well as film scanners.
They created a new category of "SLR-like" cameras with the introduction of the DiMage 7. This camera mixed many of the features of a traditional SLR camera with the special abilities of a digital camera. It had a traditional zoom ring and focus ring on the lens barrel, it used an electronic viewfinder so that you see exactly what the camera sees, it adds many high level features such as a histogram and made the cameras compatible with Minolta's flashes for modern film SLRs. The controls were designed to be used by people familiar with SLR cameras. However, the lenses were not interchangeable, and the cameras never were accepted as a true alternative to a SLR camera. They later innovated with this line by being the first manufacturer to integrate a mechanical anti-shake system into their digital cameras. Before the closure of the Photo Imaging unit, the DiMage lineup split into the long-zoom Z line, the low-end E/G lines, the thin/light X line, and the advanced A line.
[edit] Digital SLRs
While Minolta was the inventor of the modern integrated AF SLR, they were the last of the large "Big Four" camera manufacturers to launch a successful digital SLR camera using a current 35mm AF mount. It wasn't until late 2004 (after the merger with Konica) that they launched the Dynax/Maxxum/α 7, a digital SLR based on the very successful Dynax/Maxxum 7 35mm SLR body. The unique feature of this camera is that it features an in-body Anti-Shake system to compensate for camera shake. However, by 2004 Canon and Nikon had a whole range of digital SLR cameras and many serious photographers had already switched, thus leading Konica Minolta to withdraw from the market and transfer assets to Sony. The only two Konica Minolta digital SLR's to reach production before the company's withdrawal were the Dynax/Maxxum 7D and the Dynax/Maxxum 5D (which is an entry-level model that shared the 7D's sensor and Anti-Shake technology).
In early 2006 Sony announced its Sony α (Alpha) line of digital SLR's, (based on Konica Minolta technology) and stated they were scheduled to launch production in the summer of 2006. As of February 2007, the Alpha a100 has been available for several months and appears to have been well received.[citation needed]
[edit] Business companies
Konica Minolta have spun off each and every business into a separate company, and delegated the authority required for executing operations to each business company. This has enabled them to build a framework characterised by flexible and speedy operational execution and business promotion.
[edit] Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
Offering document solutions for evolving office environments focused on colour, digitalisation, high-speed and networking.
Location of head office: Tokyo, Number of employees: Approx. 19,600
Main products: Copiers, printers, facsimile machines, microfilm systems and related supplies.
[edit] Multi-functional peripherals (MFPs)
Pursuing advanced imaging markets Konica Minolta's digital multi-functional peripherals (MFPs), branded the "bizhub" series, are equipped with multiple functions (copying, printing, faxing, scanning), and can integrate into any corporate network environments. They allow users to consolidate the administration of office equipment connected to a network by using a series of network anagement software programmes and even to manage and share both scanned data and computer-generated data. The bizhub concept enables users to adopt flexible work styles, freeing them from place and time constraints. Their colour output boasts the highest image quality and speed in the industry and leads the office equipment market where the boundary between colour and monochrome products is blurring. In the light-production printing market, we help improve operational efficiency by providing highspeed monochrome copiers and MFPs with superior durability and image quality which are best suited to print on demand (POD).
[edit] Konica Minolta Printing Solutions
Advanced generation of compact, lightweight and high-performance colour laser printers. The market for colour laser printers continues to expand, fuelled by the rapid shift of business documents from monochrome to colour. Konica Minolta's colour laser printers - branded the "magicolor" series - feature superb image quality and compact design, as exemplified by the world's smallest and lightest* colour laser printer - the magicolor 2430DL - only made possible thanks to the company's cutting-edge optical technologies. The magicolor series is used in a wide range of environments and applications, from general offices to homes.
[edit] Konica Minolta Opto, Inc.
With the rich experience and the latest technology in optics, KONICA MINOLTA OPTO, INC. has been developping most advanced optical components, units, and systems for various application, and has been supplying to the many customers in the world.
[edit] Konica Minolta Medical & Graphic, Inc.
Manufacturing, sale, and related services of film and processing equipment for medical and graphic imaging.
[edit] Konica Minolta Sensing, Inc.
Manufacture and sales of measuring instruments for industrial, and medical fields: 3-D digitizers, Polygon editing software, Spectrophotometers, Colorimeters, Display color analyzers, Illuminance meters, Luminance meters, Spectroradiometers, Spot thermometers, Oxygen saturation monitors, Jaundice meters, etc.
[edit] References
- Dynax 4/Dynax 3/Maxxum 4 Instruction Manual
- Maxxum 5D Brochure
- Robert E. Mayer, Minolta Classic Cameras (a Magic Lantern Guide)
- Konica Minolta Corporate Profile 2005
[edit] External links
- Konica Minolta official site
- Konica Minolta Printing Solutions France
- Konica Minolta Cup Welsh Rugby Union tournament
- Konica Minolta Tower
