Seiko Epson : Epson to Invest 16 Billion Yen in New Building at Hirooka Office

News Release

- TOKYO, Japan, October 5, 2017 -

Seiko Epson Corporation (TSE: 6724, 'Epson') will invest approximately 16 billion yen to build a new building (named Innovation Center Building B) on the campus of its Hirooka Office, in the city of Shiojiri in Nagano, Japan. The new building, which will house a factory for prototyping and volume-producing large commercial and industrial printing systems and a test laboratory for digital textile printing, is part of Epson's mid-term plans to grow its printing solutions business.

Innovation Center Building B will have a total floor area of 37,650 m². The first floor will house the factory and test laboratory, while the second and third floors will be an office area. Construction work is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2018 and operations are expected to begin in around March 2020. Epson expects the new building to yield benefits by reinforcing its research and development capabilities and production technology in the commercial and industrial printing domain. The company also expects to benefit from greater operational efficiency by bringing all relevant departments under the same roof.

As an R&D and production center for core devices used in the printing solutions business and as an inkjet printer planning and design center, the Hirooka Office works closely with Epson's production sites worldwide. It shares the advanced production technology and know-how it gains through the development and production of core devices with Epson's overseas sites to help maximize manufacturing capabilities across the Epson Group. Epson already has under construction at the Hirooka Office a new factory that will produce the company's state-of-the-art PrecisionCore printheads. That factory is scheduled to be completed in the first half of the 2018 fiscal year.

Epson has designated commercial and industrial printing as a key business area in its Epson 25 mid- to long-range corporate vision, Epson will build Innovation Center Building B in response to the expansion of key markets. In the signage market, Epson is expanding and upgrading its lineup of printers that deliver spectacular image quality for things such as indoor/ outdoor sign boards. In the digital textile printing market, Epson anticipates rapid expansion because, in addition to having a comparatively low environmental impact, digital systems offer print shops the ability to handle short-run print jobs at low cost and with a fast turnaround.

Epson is committed to advancing its original technologies and to delighting customers by exceeding their expectations with products and services based on original core devices.

Innovation Center Building B profile

Hirooka Office profile (as of March 31, 2017)

About Epson
Epson is a global technology leader dedicated to connecting people, things and information with its original efficient, compact and precision technologies. With a lineup that ranges from inkjet printers and digital printing systems to 3LCD projectors, smart glasses, sensing systems and industrial robots, the company is focused on driving innovations and exceeding customer expectations in inkjet, visual communications, wearables and robotics.
Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises more than 72,000 employees in 88 companies around the world, and is proud of its contributions to the communities in which it operates and its ongoing efforts to reduce environmental impacts.
http://global.epson.com/