Konica Minolta 2001 Annual Report Download - page 8

Konica Corporation/ Annual Report 200 1
6
sales from ¥64 .4 billion in Marc h
2 0 0 1 to ¥8 3 .0 billion by
March 2 0 0 5 .
The Inkjet Business Group
Uses High Technology to
Create New Markets
The Inkjet Business Group and the EM
& ID Business Group have been
designated as strategic business fields
in photosensitive materials-related
operations. Sales of media ( paper)
have been the driving force behind the
business volume and profits of the
Inkjet Business Group. In particular,
sales of our highly regarded Photolike
QP, a Konica photo-quality inkjet paper
with an excellent glossy base and
microporous tec hnology for fast
drying, have doubled every six months.
This has led to our c apturing around a
6 0 % share of the market for high-
quality glossy paper.
In addition, printer heads are
achieving both higher speeds and
higher density as the number of
nozzles has inc reased from 1 2 8 to
5 1 2 . The Company has set a goal of
5 1 2 nozzles and is following a three-
pronged approach that calls for
developing media, printer heads and
Expanding O ur Technological
Sphere with Optics Technology
We are also optimistic about the future
prospects of the Optic s Technology
Company, one of our strategic business
operations. To this point, the Optics
Tec hnology Company’s mainstay
product has been the aspherical
plastic lenses used in optical discs,
with our CD/DVD aspherical plastic
objective lenses capturing a market
share of around 7 0 %. We expect to
maintain a healthy market share and
high profitability, particularly in lenses
for DVDs and the next-generation HD-
DVDs. Plans are also under way to
reinforce our lens unit business,
especially for produc ts such as VTRs
and digital cameras.
Further, we expect that opto-
mec hatronic s technology, which we
developed for zoom lenses used in
cameras/VTRs and 3.5 -inch magneto-
optical ( MO) disk drives, will find
applications in micro-camera units,
such as those used in the personal
digital assistant field. With these areas
as our focal points, our goal in optics
technology, including camera and
digital imagimg operations, is to boost
ink. While combined sales of the Inkjet
Business Group were ¥ 4 .1 billion in
fiscal 20 0 1 , we have set an ambitious
sales target of ¥ 3 6 .0 billion by March
2005.
Advances in High-Value-Added
Products from the EM & ID
Business Group
The EM & ID Business Group is
focusing its energies on LCD polarizer
TAC film. Demand for this film, a key
component in making polarized film
for LCDs, should continue to expand.
As thin film and high-value-added
services continue to grow, we project
that sales of the EM & ID Business
Group will rise sharply from ¥ 1 2 .2
billion in March 20 0 1 to ¥3 0 .0 billion
by March 20 0 5 .
Focusing on Investment, Human
Resources and R&D Strategy
To guide our efforts in fields with high
growth potential, we are foc using on
our investment, human resourc es and
R&D strategy as outlined above. All
capital investment possible within the
limitations of cash flow is being
directed toward these fields.
Spec ifically, the LCD polarizer TAC film
business is creating high-value-added