Seiko Epson Corporation ("Epson," TSE: 6724)
today announced that subsidiary company Epson Italia S.p.A.
would take on a 50% share in For.Tex S.R.L. of Como, Italy.
For.Tex is a leader in textile printing, and the move
strengthens Epson's efforts to establish itself in the
digital textile printing market.
Located in the heart of the Italian textile industry,
For.Tex specializes in sales of textile printing inks,
manufacturing and sales of treatment agents used in textile
printing processes, and digital textile printing chemical
consulting. The Italian company has worked closely with
Epson since 2003, when Epson entered the market by jointly
developing the Monna Lisa digital textile printer with
Robustelli of Italy.
The two companies plan to work closely together to help
customers improve the quality of their products and the
efficiency of their work processes. For.Tex will be
responsible for marketing textile printing, selling
dedicated Monna Lisa inks developed by Epson, and
manufacturing and selling treatment agents that work in
perfect combination with both the inks and textiles.
Textile printing is shifting rapidly from analog to
digital, with the latter forecasted to grow by 400% between
2010 and 2015. Epson will take on a 50% share of For.Tex
with the aim of further cementing its presence in the
textile printing market. The investment will bring together
Epson's core inkjet printing technology and global
sales and service network with For.Tex' expertise in
textile printing marketing, consulting, and printing
processes. With the ultimate aim of expanding the market
for digital textile printing, the companies' goal is to
work together to create superior products with new
textiles, colours and patterns, and provide proposals and
service that will illustrate to customers the advantages of
digital textile printing.
"We are delighted to announce this agreement with
For.Tex," said Minoru Usui, Epson's corporate
president. "It's another example of how Epson is
seeking to leverage its core Micro Piezo technology to
provide enhanced value to new customers in fields as
diverse as proofing, signage, commercial photography,
production and industry. Both Epson and For.Tex are leaders
in their respective fields, and this tie-up provides a
superb opportunity to expand the market for digital textile
printing."
"Cooperating with an international company such as
Epson has given us the opportunity to enter the growing
global digital textile market, and take on new and positive
challenges," said Pietro Roncoroni, president of For.
Tex. "Epson's decision to take 50% share of our
company is a sign we are moving in the right direction. In
the future we will focus on expanding the digital textile
printing market with the aim of offering customers enhanced
printing quality."
Epson's corporate vision calls for the company to
leverage its core technologies to provide products and
services that exceed the vision of customers worldwide. An
essential part of this strategy is tailoring Epson's
core Micro Piezo inkjet printing technology to the needs of
customers in textile printing and other commercial and
industrial domains.
For.Tex outline
Company name
For.Tex S.R.L.
Location
Via Livescia 11 22073 Finomornasco (Como), Italy
President
Pietro Roncoroni
Established
1986
Revenue (2011)
21,730,000 euros
No. of employees
20
Business lines
Sales of textile printing inks, manufacturing and sales
of textile printing
treatment agents, consulting about digital textile
printing chemical
processing, and sales and support of Monna Lisa inkjet
textile printer
Seiko Epson Corporation specializes in the design, manufacturing and marketing of printing, visual communication and watchmaking equipment and systems, and industrial devices. Net sales break down by family of products as follows:
- printing equipment (71%): printers, scanners, copiers, digital presses, fax machines, ticket printers, labellers, etc. for businesses and individuals. The group also offers consumables (ink cartridges, toners, ribbons, etc.);
- visual communication systems (14.2%): multimedia projectors, smart glasses, LCD displays, etc. ;
- watches and industrial products (14.1%): electronic and mechanical watches, wristwatches, chronometers, optoelectronic devices, precision machine tools, robotic systems, mechatronic products, micro-devices, etc.
- other (0.7%).
At the end of March 2021, Seiko Epson operated 27 production sites worldwide.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: Japan (22.3%), the United States (21%), China (14.5%) and other (42.2%).