Fuji Xerox, which set up a branch office in Myanmar in April and expects to attain 30 per cent of the Thai market for printers and other document-related products this year, is now hoping to expand its business more widely in the region.President Tadahito Yamamoto, who was interviewed by the Byteline Desk during a visit to Thailand and Laos, said the Japanese company – a joint venture between Fuji Photo Film and US-based Xerox – is also interested in expanding in Laos and Cambodia.

“It’s time for us to have a very good look at what is going on in Cambodia and Laos, which for a couple of years have been managed by our office in Thailand. This is the first time we have visited Laos, whose gross domestic product is growing by 8 to 9 per cent each year. We are expecting to grow [our business there] more. I just want to see what is going on, and after that I will think about what to do next,” he said.

He added that while Thailand remained a very important market for Fuji Xerox, the company was just getting started in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, which were currently very small markets.

“Thailand is at the centre of our [regional] initiative, which may affect other markets. We are so excited that Thailand is growing, and growing very rapidly. Thailand’s market growth is one of the highest, at 17 per cent last year. It is a huge market and we are expecting continuous growth,” said Yamamoto.

To support market growth, the company has an overseas service-support team, especially for customers in the manufacturing sector. It also provides many solutions that are basically the same as those Fuji Xerox makes available to Japanese companies, he added.

He said the company used to be largely a provider of printers and printing supplies, but now also provides services that are more complex and entail talent, skills and ideas. It also has a specialist team to customise services to suit clients’ needs.

“We are now developing the market – the Asian market. We have the services and solutions to support customers, and these are our strong points. Horizontally, we now have a logistics route from Vietnam to Myanmar, and Thailand is at the centre of [this part of] Asia,” said Yamamoto.

“The Thai market is [geographically] huge, so we have a market that includes small and mid-sized customers that are quite difficult to reach. Now we are delivering localised products like menus and manuals in the Thai language,” he said.

Fuji Xerox also started construction of a plant in Hai Phong – a city in northern Vietnam – last December.

The facility will commence production of new multifunction colour-printing devices and small LED (light-emitting diode) printers to support the Southeast Asian market in November.

The plant, which will have a production capacity of 2 million units per year, is being established at a cost of about ¥9 billion (Bt2.85 billion) and will also manufacture components such as printed wiring boards and drum cartridges.

Fuji Xerox also has a recycling factory in Chon Buri province to produce eco-products and re-used items. Output is delivered within Thailand, but products could also be shipped to Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia.

The company’s overall share of the market for printers and other document-related products both in the region and Thailand stood at 28 per cent last year, a level that is expected to reach 30 per cent this year, said the company head.

Service orientation

The company also plans to launch new products and services, including a translation feature whereby when you scan a Japanese document it will be automatically translated into English, and Media Switch technology, which is designed to support small and medium-sized businesses, said Yamamoto.