Konica Minolta

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Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc.

logo
legal form Kabushiki-gaisha (joint stock company)
ISIN JP3300600008
founding 2003
Seat Marunouchi , Japan
management Shoei Yamana
Number of employees 41,598 (2015)
sales JPY 1,002.76 billion (2014/15) EUR
7.77 billion
Branch Office electronics
Website www.konicaminolta.com

Konica Minolta Holdings KK ( Japanese コ ニ カ ミ ノ ル タ ホ ー ル デ ィ ン グ ス 株式会社 , Konika Minoruta Hōrudingusu Kabushiki-gaisha ) is a Japanese company in the optical, medical and office technology industries, which was founded in August 2003 by the merger of Minolta Co., Ltd. emerged with Konica Corporation ; the merger was completed in January 2004. A cooperation between the two companies in the research and development of certain new products had existed since April 2000. The company operates under the name Konica Minolta , which is also the new brand name.

Until 2006, Konica Minolta was the third largest camera manufacturer in the world after Canon and Nikon .

history

Minolta was one of the oldest camera manufacturers in Japan. The company's history reached back to 1928, when Kazuo Tashima founded the Nichi documentary Shashinki Shōten ( 日 独 写真 機 商店 , "Japanese-German camera business") on November 11, 1928 . In July 1931, the company was renamed Molta KG ("Mechanism, Optics and Lenses from Tashima") and the brand name Minolta ("Mechanism, Instruments, Optics and Lenses from Tashima") was registered. In 1937 it was renamed Chiyoko (Chiyoda Kogaku Seiko Kabushiki Kaisha) or Chiyoda Kogaku . It was not until July 1962 that the name Minolta Camera Company (Minolta Kabushiki Kaisha) was also used as a company name.

Konica's corporate history even dates back to 1873, when Rokusaburo Sugiura started trading in photographic and lithographic products. The business was renamed Konishi Honten in 1879 . From 1943 the company operated under the name Konishiroku Photo Industry Co., Ltd. until finally in 1987 all product names were consolidated under the brand name Konica and the company was renamed Konica Corporation .

Minolta-QMS logo

In 2000, the printer manufacturer QMS was taken over by Minolta; the company Minolta-QMS was created.

In the summer of 2005 Konica-Minolta announced a strategic partnership with the Sony company , together the two companies wanted to develop high-quality digital cameras .

After the announcement on January 19, 2006, the company gave up the camera business on March 31, 2006. Since April 1, Sony has continued to operate business and customer service with digital SLR cameras. The photo-film business was finally closed. Konica Minolta now mainly relies on its office electronics division which, for example, produces printer parts and copiers.

Cooperations

Even after its withdrawal from the photo division, Konica Minolta still produces optical assemblies for other manufacturers, such as lenses for JVC video cameras such as the HD Everio GZ-HD3 from 2007. Clear indications of a (possibly only temporary) cooperation between Konica Minolta as There are also suppliers for components of the Sony α system. For example, the first DSLR in this system, the Sony Alpha DSLR-A100 presented in 2006, is almost entirely based on a Konica Minolta design, as can be seen from an analysis of the firmware and the Konica Minolta code number “2187” in the camera's service manual demonstrate. The second camera in this series, the Sony Alpha DSLR-A700 presented in 2007, is also based on information in the "Service Manual" on a design that Konica Minolta has at least started under the code number "2179".

Product range

Konica Minolta's current product range includes multifunctional office systems, copier systems, laser printers , fax systems , scanners , color and light measuring systems, binoculars and, for historical reasons, planetariums . In the company's long history, for example , Minolta also produced medium format , disc , pocket , APS cameras , digital cameras and 35mm cameras ; however, these product lines were no longer continued.

photography

Digital cameras turned Minolta since 1986 ago; The company is one of the very first providers of digital cameras.

Since the end of 2004, the Dynax 7D , announced immediately before the photokina, was once again on the market - the first SLR camera with a built-in image stabilizer , the so-called anti-shake system (AS). In September 2005 it got a new addition through its smaller sister Dynax 5D . In 2006 finally were from Konica Minolta and from 2005 newly announced cooperation partner Sony several DSLRs with Minolta A - Bayonet (vague) announced but appeared no longer under this Konica Minolta name, because in January 2006 gave Konica Minolta announced that the Company would withdraw from the camera and film business on April 1, 2006. Sony should take over the business with digital SLR cameras of the Dynax system.

The first Sony DSLR Alpha , launched on June 5, 2006 under the name Sony Alpha DSLR-A100, could not deny its Minolta roots in many ways. In a weaker form, this also applies to the Sony Alpha DSLR-A700, which was officially presented on September 6, 2007.

Office technology

In the field of digital full-color copier and multifunctional systems, Konica Minolta has been successful with the bizhub series for several years . During this period, Konica Minolta Europe’s business with the German authorized dealer Veenman , who sells Konica Minolta products under the brand name LINIUM , also falls under its own brand (OEM partnership). This was previously only known from Ricoh and their subsidiaries Infotec , Lanier and NRG (Nashuatec - Rex Rotary - Gestetner) .

Medical technology

In the medical technology sector, Konica Minolta Medical Imaging is a leading provider of systems for medical imaging. The product portfolio includes IT healthcare, image plate systems (Regius 190, Regius 190 Mammo, Regius 190 HPS, Regius 110), diagnostic software, X-ray systems, dry laser printers (Drypro 771, 793 and 832), film processing machines (SRX) as well as medical X-ray and Laser films.

Group structure

Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. has seven direct subsidiaries:

  • Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
  • Konica Minolta Opto, Inc.
  • Konica Minolta Medical & Graphic, Inc.
  • Konica Minolta Sensing, Inc.
  • Konica Minolta Photo Imaging, Inc.
  • Konica Minolta Technology Center, Inc.
  • Konica Minolta Business Expert, Inc.
  • Konica Minolta IT Solutions GmbH

The European headquarters Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe GmbH ( Langenhagen ) and Konica Minolta Photo Imaging Europe GmbH ( Unterföhring ) will also be combined under the umbrella of the new holding company ; the new companies are the legal successors of the former Konica Business Machines Deutschland GmbH , Konica Europe GmbH and Minolta Europe GmbH . The headquarters of Konica Minolta Medical & Graphic Imaging Europe GmbH in Unterföhring have been relocated and the company headquarters for the medical technology sector is now in Munich-Neuperlach. The companies have 26 European branches with around 6,000 employees.

Other subsidiaries

See also

Web links

Commons : Konica Minolta  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Konica Minolta 2015 Annual Report , accessed May 15, 2016
  2. ↑ Converted at the rate on the balance sheet date, March 31, 2015
  3. ↑ http://www.mi-fo.de/forum/index.php?showtopic=24065&view=findpost&p=253387 Message from Fumio Iwai and Joshikatsu Ota to the Konica Minolta shareholders from August 2003, mentioned in an article in the Minolta- Forum
  4. ↑ Lens labeling on JVC video camera with Konica Minolta lens Forum post with information on the origin of the lens of the JVC HD Everio GZ-HD3
  5. ↑ Forum contribution from September 8, 2006 by Matthias Paul, administrator in the Minolta forum firmware analysis of the Sony Alpha DSLR-A100
  6. ↑ Forum contribution from December 19, 2007 by Matthias Paul, administrator in the Minolta forum Overview of some Konica-Minolta code numbers for camera housings
  7. ↑ Japanese Konica joins Pfälzer Mobotix , Handelsblatt from March 29, 2016, accessed on April 29, 2016