Investment by Japanese conglomerate in Australia brings early results 10 November 2010 An investment in Australia last year by leading Japanese office automation equipment conglomerate Ricoh has brought early results. Ricoh’s Optical Character Recognition (OCR) application, first developed in Sydney, has now been taken up for regional distribution across Asia-Pacific. The application, the ESA TransFormer, enables a multi-function device to scan, convert and send images into numerous formats without the need for software conversion on an individual PC. Its latest enhancements include multiple language support for the Asian market. Investment in Sydney Regional Innovation Centre In 2009, Ricoh invested A$3 million to establish a Regional Innovation Centre in Sydney – an investment which is expected to go up to A$6 million within the next two years. The Australian Trade Commission – Austrade – assisted in attracting this investment to Australia by providing business case information when Ricoh expressed interest in expanding their Australian operations into a regional role and undertaking R&D. Part of a worldwide network, Ricoh Sydney provides support services to the Asia-Pacific region and is involved in co-development projects with Ricoh Japan. In 2008-09, Ricoh had global sales worth A$25 billion. The Ricoh company is known around the world for its office automation equipment, state-of-the-art electronic devices and photographic equipment. More information |