Toner News Mobile › Forums › Latest Industry News › *NEWS*ZINK TO BUY K-MINLOTA’s U.S. PLANT
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AnonymousInactiveZink to Buy KMMU Plant
WALTHAM,
Mass., June 2007 — Waltham, Mass.-based Zink Imaging, developer of
“zero ink” technology that enables printing of color images and photos
without ink, ribbons or toner from mobile electronic devices, announced
today it will buy a Whitsett, N.C., facility owned by Konica Minolta
Manufacturing USA Inc. (KMMU) in which it will make paper for use in
its printers. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.The site is a
coating and chemical mix facility originally built in 1989 for the
production of Konica Minolta imaging products. Zink Imaging said it
will hire KMMU employees now working there to assist in the
manufacturing of its paper — an advanced composite material with dye
crystals embedded inside and a protective polymer overcoat layer
outside.Before printing, the embedded dye crystals are clear, so the
paper looks like regular white photocopy paper, the company said. A
Zink-enabled printer uses heat to activate and colorize these dye
crystals. Zink said its products, which will integrate the printers in
cell phones and other devices, are expected to be available late this
year.“We are quite pleased to be able to extend our manufacturing
operations beyond our headquarters in Massachusetts to the Konica
Minolta facility in North Carolina,” said Wendy Caswell, president
& CEO of Zink Imaging. “The Konica Minolta manufacturing site is
synergistic with our existing operations, which made the decision to
purchase the facility a natural one.”
Konica sale keeps plant open
WHITSETT
— A Boston company is buying the Konica Minolta Manufacturing plant
that was due to close this year, allowing 60 remaining workers to keep
their jobs.Zink Imaging will begin operating the photo-paper plant July
2, said Bob Harris, president of Konica Minolta Manufacturing
USA.Konica Minolta announced last year that it would shut down
operations here because digital photography has reduced sales of its
photo paper. At the time, the Japanese company, which is pulling out of
the camera and photo business, had planned to close the plant and lay
off all of its workers. Harris said 160 already have lost their jobs
permanently.But a new technology developed by Zink is taking photo
paper into the digital age while still using Konica’s equipment and
remaining employees.Zink says its new type of “zero ink” photo paper is
much simpler than photo papers prior to computer imaging.The company’s
paper is an advanced composite material with dye crystals embedded
inside, the company said, and a protective polymer overcoat layer
outside.It looks like regular white photo paper, the company said, but
a Zink printer uses heat to activate and color these dye
crystals.Konica Minolta began working with Zink last fall, helping it
develop products, and the relationship grew from there, said Harris,
who will continue to run the plant. The new product has so much
potential, Harris said, that this factory could eventually increase
production.The advanced-manufacturing workers at the factory will make
an average of more than $50,000 a year in salary and benefits. Its
total payroll is about $10 million a year, Harris said.The
company may seek local economic development incentives to help it
expand, Harris said.Harris worked hard to find a buyer and keep the
operation running, said Richard Beard, a partner in Simpson, Schulman
& Beard, which manages Rock Creek Center, where Konica Minolta is
based.”He had his fingers crossed,” Beard said. “He went in a lot of
different directions trying to keep that operation going. He really
deserves a lot of credit.”Zink bought the 300,000-square-foot factory
and 80 acres, Beard said. Harris declined to disclose the purchase
price.The most recent tax records from Guilford County set the value of
property at 6900 Konica Drive, the location of the plant is, at more
than $45.4 million. The building and land alone are worth about $18.5
million, county tax records show. -
AuthorJune 20, 2007 at 11:28 AM
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