Ricoh

is a Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company. It was founded by the now-defunct commercial division of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken) known as the Riken Concern, on 6 February 1936 as Riken Sensitized Paper. Ricoh's headquarters are located in Ota, Tokyo. Ricoh produces electronic products, primarily cameras and office equipment such as printers, photocopiers, fax machines, offers Software as a Service (SaaS) document management applications such as DocumentMall, RicohDocs, GlobalScan, Print&Share, MakeLeaps and also offers Projectors. In the late 1990s through early 2000s, the company grew to become the largest copier manufacturer in the world. During this time, Ricoh acquired Savin, Gestetner, Lanier, Rex-Rotary, Monroe, Nashuatec, IKON and most recently IBM Printing Systems Division / Infoprint Solutions Company. Although the Monroe brand was discontinued, products continue to be marketed worldwide under the remaining brand names. In 2006, Ricoh acquired the European operations of Danka for $210 million. These operations continue as a stand-alone business unit, under the Infotec brand. 1936: The company was founded. Before relocating to Chūō, Ricoh was first in Minato, Tokyo. In 2006 Ricoh's headquarters moved to the 25-story Ricoh Building in the Ginza area in Chūō. 1955: Ricoh made their first diazo copier. Ricopy 101 was a diazo wet copier for desktop blueprint duplication. The model received certification of Mechanical Engineering Heritage #54 by the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME) in 2012. 1960s and 1970s: Ricoh made wrist watches for both the Japanese domestic market and international markets, briefly entering into a partnership with Hamilton Watch Company, for the creation of the Ricoh Hamilton Electric watch. 1980s and 1990s: Ricoh was the primary manufacturer of Pitney-Bowes copiers. They have also manufactured copiers for Toshiba, fax machines for AT&T Corporation and Omnifax, as well as a wide variety of equipment for numerous other companies including duplicators for AB Dick.