Since an explosion at Tatsuno Factory of Konica Minolta Supplies Manufacturing Co., Ltd. on August 12, Konica Minolta have released 3 announcements. There is a worldwide shortage of supplies of new toner which has impacted on demand for compatible toners. Here at copierstaples we passed enquiries to our main site www.photocopiertoners.com who are pleased to advise that we supported substantial orders to schools colleges and other organisations.
Below is the official third notice from Konica Minolta resulting from the accident.
“We sincerely apologize for the considerable inconvenience and concerns among local residents, relevant authorities, and customers who use our products. As it took time to investigate the cause and determine the timing of production resumption, the current situation is as follows:
Cause identification and countermeasures
Both of the two accidents occurred in the secondary drying process in the toner production process. After the August 12 accident, it took time to collect and analyze data. As a result of in-house investigation including objective advice from a third party organization, we have decided it is highly likely that the static electricity generated in this drying process was the cause of the dust explosion.
As a measure to resume production, we introduced a new production process that does not use the secondary drying process, with the aim of eliminating the risk of accidents and ensuring safety.
Plans for resuming production
At Kofu Factory, the risk assessment by experts has currently been under way. With confirmation that the assessment ends with no problem, we will resume production of toners in this new production process on October 18. Tatsuno Factory also goes through similar risk assessment and, in addition to explanations to fire departments and other relevant authorities, we will hold an explanatory session for local residents. Resumption of toner production at Tatsuno Factory is planned on November 8. Shipments of products are scheduled to begin on October 28 at Kofu Factory, which mainly produces toners for office products, and on November 20 at the Tatsuno Factory, which mainly produces toners for on-demand digital printing systems. We will endeavor to ensure that our customers can use our products.
Domestic toner supply (in Japan)
Supply of toners for office products continues so that customers can continue to print. Regarding toners for on-demand digital printing systems, we are trying to recover at an early stage, including adoption of alternative toners. As for some color toners, with our sincere apology, we have no choice but to halt new orders. By resuming production, we will start supply sequentially from around November 20. Until that time, we will continue to provide support for the business continuity of our customers. For monochrome machines, toner supply will keep running, while adjusting the shipment volume.
The Konica Minolta Group takes the accidents seriously and will continue to strive to ensure the safety of the community. At the same time, we would like to express our sincere apologies for the accidents, which caused concerns and inconvenience to our customers due to a shortage in the supply of toners. We also ask for understanding and support as we work to resume production in the future.
The rest of the world and the UK
The impact of this explosion cannot be under estimated. Here at copierstaples we supply generic staple cartridges for your photocopier or printer finisher, they remain readily available but for the clients who ask us either through this website or our main website www.photocopiertoners.com for toners the story is very different, we have had large numbers of schools and educational organisations as well as dealers who are desperate for their print needs.
We could not supply original toner (even Konica couldn’t supply all the requests out there) but we could supply compatible toners so fortunately, we were able to help many old and new customers through these difficult times.
We will be writing an article on the semiconductor chip shortages separately, this shortage is affecting deliveries on many things from cars to copiers, computers and everything that uses a “chip”.