*NEWS*KONICA/MINOLTA IN ONTARIO CANADA !

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Date: Tuesday September 23, 2003 10:43:00 am
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    Konica Minolta Business Solutions (Canada) Ltd. Begins Operation October 1st
    Mississauga. ON – On October 1, 2003, Konica Minolta Business Solutions (Canada), Ltd. Officially integrates Konica Business Technologies Canada, Inc. with Minolta Business Equipment (Canada), Ltd. The new company will be headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario.

    “There has been a lot of misinformation surrounding the merger,” says Don Davis, President of Konica Minolta Business Solutions Canada. “It is important for our dealers, customers, and our future customers to fully understand the truth behind the merger and set the record straight regarding some key points.”

    Konica Minolta’s Revenue Growth and Profitability Equals Stability: The worldwide net sales for Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. is projected to be US$9.9 billion in fiscal year 2003. By 2005, revenue is forecasted to grow about 17% in the business products area, but more importantly, gross profit is expected to grow about 70%. This exceeds the historical growth patterns of each individual company by a wide margin.

    Further, the new holding company has been able to restructure and considerably reduce debt. As of September 9, 2003, Konica Minolta stock is up 15% from its initial offering on August 5, 2003. The end result is that Konica Minolta is, out of the box, a much stronger, more stable company with the financial resources needed to invest in product development and more efficient manufacturing. The net is that we plan to be around for a long time and will have the means to present a serious challenge to our competitors in the industry.

    A Bigger Footprint in Canada: Konica Minolta Business Solutions sales will exceed C$170 million in fiscal 2003 and increase to approximately C$200 million by fiscal 2005.

    Konica Minolta’s Market Share: Market share information is a strong indicator of the health of a company and its ability to compete. The market share data provided by Gartner DataQuest for product shipments in the first half of 2003 is good news for the new company. For example, the combined market share of Minolta and Konica in black and white multi- functional peripherals, Segments 1-6, is about eight percent. That puts us solidly in fourth place, ahead of Hewlett-Packard and many of our competitors. In the all-important Segment 4, the largest in terms of shipments, Konica Minolta combined share puts us number two in the rankings, ahead of Xerox. When it comes to colour, we really shine. Combined share for all colour multi-functional peripherals puts us in a strong third position, comfortably ahead of Ricoh. In the 11-20 ppm colour category, Konica Minolta is number two – ahead of Canon!

    Technical Support: Historically, both Minolta and Konica developed a reputation for outstanding customer service and technical support. Konica Minolta Business Solutions will continue to invest in the educational programs and infrastructure required to provide even better support than before.

    Breadth of Product Line: Simply put, by April 2004, when we begin to market the combined brand under one logo, Konica Minolta Business Solutions will have the best product line in Canada. Minolta and Konica worked together for more than two years before the merger to jointly develop new products. Now the combined companies will offer a comprehensive line of colour and black and white imaging systems that address the needs of companies and organizations ranging from the small office/home office to large production operations. No matter what a company’s document imaging needs may be, colour or black and white, Konica Minolta Business Solutions will have a product that fits just right at an affordable price.

    Research and Development: Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. will triple its R&D investment in the first year of combined operations. This investment is made possible by achieving the financial stability and growth mentioned previously. This investment plus the 1,300 U.S. registered patents in electrophotography (copier and printer) technology held by Konica Minolta means our clients will have access to the most technologically advanced products in the industry brought to market on a faster time cycle.

    Manufacturing: “Time to market” is an increasingly important benchmark for success. With the rapidly evolving demand for newer, better, faster, cheaper products, the company that can keep up with advances in technology and bring new products to market faster will win. Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. will improve time to market by combining manufacturing operations, focusing on the most efficient facilities and eliminating redundancies. In addition, by streamlining sourcing, we ensure that costs are contained and managed. Central to this philosophy is a unified design approach to our products that allow such efficiencies in sourcing and manufacturing. This means that Konica Minolta Business Solutions can bring products to market in Canada more quickly that are extremely cost competitive and represent the best value to our clients and prospects.

    Services and Networking: We realize that our clients want more than just hardware – they want a true partner who can provide a rich menu of services and support that will help increase productivity and make information sharing easier than ever before. Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. understands these needs and will invest in developing products that support our hardware in a document workflow environment. And, being a bigger and more financially stable company, we can attract third-party vendors of software and services willing to invest with us to enhance our product offerings.

    About Konica Minolta Business Solutions (Canada), Ltd.: Konica Minolta Business Solutions is a Canadian leader in providing digital solutions for document creation, distribution and production. Through its national network of direct sales offices, authorized dealers, resellers, distribution partners and customer service centres, Konica Minolta Business Solutions offers a full range of copiers, digital multi-functional copiers, printers, micro systems, facsimiles, and related supplies. Konica Minolta Business Solutions is the Canadian division of Konica Minolta Technologies Corporation, a business unit of Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc., Tokyo, Japan

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