Copiers Digital Advantages

• Minolta and Konica announced a joint manufacturing venture.

• Ricoh purchased Lanier.

• Xerox outsourced its manufacturing facilities to Flextronics.

The production of analog copiers ground to a halt for virtually all the manufacturers, as expected, in 2001.

Rumors abound that a major copier manufacturer will be exiting the business this year. Will it happen? Probably not. No doubt, however, more changes in marketing and manufacturing partners will be announced. We are hearing strong rumors that one or more of the major independent dealer organizations will be bought, perhaps by its manufacturing partner.