Ricoh and ETRIA launch “Circular New,” a manufacturing concept, turning resource circulation into competitive advantage

Ricoh and ETRIA launch "Circular New," a manufacturing concept, turning resource circulation into competitive advantage

• Reduces newly sourced material use from about 76% to as low as 21% with product carbon footprint expected to drop by up to 25%
• Delivers latest-generation models with consistent quality, functionality and warranty, while utilising components recovered from the market
• Strengthens supply chain resilience and manufacturing competitiveness through localised production in Japan and Europe

London, October 6, 2026 - Ricoh Company, Ltd. and ETRIA CO., LTD. today announced "Circular New," a manufacturing concept that transforms products already used in the market into assets for future production, turning resource circulation into new product value and manufacturing competitiveness. As the first application, the concept will be introduced to Ricoh's A3 monochrome multifunction printers (MFPs), with localised production and launch scheduled in Japan and Europe in the first half of 2027.

Compared with conventional centralised production at major manufacturing sites in Asia, localised circular production close to consumption markets is designed to reduce the proportion of newly sourced materials used from approximately 76% to as low as approximately 21%.1 Customers will receive the same latest-generation models, with consistent quality, functionality and warranty, regardless of the production method.

Circular New integrates product planning, design, manufacturing, use, collection and reuse into a single continuous loop, utilising products already in the market as assets to manufacture new products with added value. In addition to conventional centralised production, Ricoh and ETRIA will establish localised circular production in Japan and France to create a regional loop of resource and component reuse, further expanding circularity. Localised production can reduce the product carbon footprint by up to 25%2 compared with centralised manufacturing of the same RICOH IM 6010 model at designated Asian production sites. This reduction is achieved by lowering the use of newly sourced materials and shortening transportation distances, while establishing a resilient supply framework to ensure reliable product delivery amid geopolitical risks, logistics disruptions and resource price volatility. Centrally manufactured and locally produced products will be offered within the same product lineup, delivering consistent product value regardless of manufacturing method or location.

Ricoh and ETRIA have long worked together to reduce newly sourced material use by incorporating recycled materials, such as recycled plastics and steel. Looking toward future circularity, ETRIA integrates design principles from the planning and development stages, including sharing frames and components across generations and models, extending component lifespans and designing structures for simple disassembly and replacement. Building on this design foundation, Circular New combines digital insights into product and component conditions with advanced sorting and quality assurance technologies. This allows Ricoh and ETRIA to go beyond using recycled materials and instead recover and reuse resources and components from existing products directly in the latest-generation models.

With Circular New, Ricoh and ETRIA aim to establish Evolving Circularity-moving beyond reducing environmental impact to continuously channel recovered resources and components into next-generation product value while advancing manufacturing itself.

In its Mid-Term Management Strategy '26, announced in March 2026, Ricoh set a target of achieving a 30% engine market share for ETRIA by fiscal 2030. Circular New is one of the initiatives supporting this growth strategy, strengthening ETRIA's manufacturing competitiveness through circular product design and localised production.

Katsunori Nakata, executive corporate officer and president of RICOH Digital Products Unit, Ricoh Company, Ltd., and CEO of ETRIA, said, "Circular New directly challenges the assumption that manufactured products must follow a linear lifecycle. Guided by our principle of aligning ESG with business growth, the Ricoh Group aims to reduce newly sourced material use to 60% by 2030 and 12% by 2050. Through this localized circular production model, we are committed to demonstrating that resource circulation can drive both customer value and manufacturing competitiveness."

Leading this innovation in Europe, Michael Vavakis, chief transformation, ESG and people officer at Ricoh Europe, said, "The future belongs to organisations that create more value with fewer wasteful resources. Circular New is a powerful example of how innovation can transform sustainability from an environmental ambition into a source of long-term value. By reducing the use of newly sourced materials from approximately 76% to as low as 21%, while strengthening supply resilience and preserving product quality, we believe circularity can deliver both business growth and reduced environmental impact.

"At the heart of this transformation are our people, whose expertise, creativity and commitment are enabling us to reimagine manufacturing for a circular economy. This initiative reflects our commitment to building a manufacturing model fit for the future that supports sustainable growth and strengthens regional resilience."

¹ By weight, among newly manufactured A3 laser multifunction printers (MFPs). The newly sourced material usage rate varies depending on the utilization of recovered components.

² Calculated based on life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 equivalent). The product carbon footprint reduction rate varies depending on the utilization of recovered components and transportation distances.