*NEWS*HP & KONICA/MINOLTA JOIN FORCES

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	HP AND KONICA MINOLTA JOIN FOR COPIER PRODUCTS
Konica Minolta, Hewlett-Packard To Tie Up In Copier Ops Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. said Wednesday it will tie up with Hewlett-Packard Co. to develop multifunction digital copiers. A spokesman for Konica Minolta said his company expects to generate Y10 billion in revenue in the first fiscal year of the tie-up. The two companies will jointly produce about five models of copiers over the next three years, with the first scheduled to hit the market in October, he said. _________________Ooops! ___________________ Too bad somebody at HP left out the “Minolta” part of their new partner’s company name in this press release: HP Announces Agreement with Konica to Strengthen and Expand Imaging, Printing Business Offerings PALO ALTO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aug. 26, 2003-HP today announced a new relationship with Konica to strengthen and expand its imaging and printing offering to the business market. HP will collaborate with Konica to leverage its expertise in copier engines, broadening HP’s portfolio of products for commercial customers. “By combining Konica’s robust copier engine expertise with HP’s heritage of networking and manageability, we will bring to the market one sophisticated system that is completely integrated with current HP hardcopy office products,” said George Mulhern, senior vice president, HP Imaging and Printing Group. “This agreement with Konica augments and complements HP’s existing partnerships and will enable us to more rapidly expand our imaging and printing offerings.” Details of the product offerings from this relationship and market strategy will be announced in the coming months, with products shipping later this year. ____________________________________________ Meanwhile, according to a Bloomberg reported late Tuesday, shares of Konica Minolta climbed as much as 106 yen to 1,547 and traded at 1,542 yen, up 7 percent, as of 9:18 a.m. Japan time Wednesdat on Tokyo Stock Exchange trading. The two companies will jointly develop about five models of multifunction-digital copiers over the next three years, the Nihon Keizai newspaper said, without saying where it obtained the information. They will introduce the first model in October, the paper said. Hewlett-Packard will begin to sell copiers under its own brand in the U.S. and European markets because of rising corporate demand for multifunction models, which also provide higher processing capabilities than regular printers, the report said. Konica Minolta will supply its parts, which let copiers print out 50 or more pages a minute, as well as toners and other products to Hewlett-Packard, the report said. The Japanese company expects the alliance will increase its sales by more than 100 billion ($852 million) yen by the year ending March 31, 2007, the paper said. Konica Minolta, which trails Canon Inc., Fuji Photo Film Co. and Ricoh Co. among Japanese printer and copier makers, was formed from the merger of Konica Corp. and Minolta Corp. earlier this month.

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August 27, 2003 at 12:28 PM