Companies Economy Live July 4, 2025 0 Comments

Japanese major Epson makes manufacturing foray into India with new Chennai facility

(from left) Junkichi Yoshida, President and Representative Director CEO, Seiko Epson Corporation, and N Sambamoorthy, President, Epson India Pvt Ltd, at Epson’s ink tank printer manufacturing facility at Sriperumbdur near Chennai on Friday
| Photo Credit:
BIJOY GHOSH

Japanese major Seiko Epson Corporation made its first manufacturing investment in India on Friday by setting up its first ink tank printer manufacturing facility in the country in Chennai.

The new plant has been established in collaboration with manufacturing partner Rikun at Sipcot Industrial Park in Sriperumbudur near Chennai, and is scheduled to commence operations in October.

To begin with, the facility will focus on the production of Epson’s flagship EcoTank printers, which offer high-capacity, cartridge-free printing solution. The company aims to start the facility by making 20,000 printers per month, and expects to scale in number and diversity of products in the future.

Junkichi Yoshida, Global President of Seiko Epson Corporation, told businessline that India’s growth trajectory and the government’s Make in India policy led the company to make its manufacturing foray here. “We searched entire India; many industry parks and many locations and partners and this search made us pick Chennai,” he added.

Production facilities

Yoshida explained that Epson already has production facilities in Philippines, Indonesia, China, and some consumables are made in the US, UK and other locations. “So, we are not setting up in India just to increase capacity, but it’s more like a local business commitment,” he added. India contributes about 8 per cent to Epson’s total global business.

While high levels of localisation will be difficult to start the facility, Epson said it is in discussions with their manufacturing partner to “make as much as we can in India”, and hopes to increase localisation in two to three years.

The facility is intended to serve Epson’s growing Indian market demand, but Yoshida does not rule out exports at some point in the future given Chennai’s strategic location and proximity to ports.

To date, over 8 million EcoTank printers have been sold in India, contributing to a global total of over 100 million EcoTank printers sold since launch. Epson also notes that it is the No 1 Inkjet Printer brand in India by market share.

Samba Moorthy, President of Epson India, said that in the last four years Epson India has grown at a CAGR of about 11.9 per cent overall with certain commercial/industrial printing segments growing by 2x-3x given its low base and growing use cases such as textile printing. “By manufacturing locally, we are now strengthening our ability to serve Indian consumers with greater agility,” he added.

Epson products address the needs of home, business and commercial consumers in India and around the world. In India, its products portfolio includes Inkjet Printers, Inkjet All-in-Ones, Point of Sale Printers, 3LCD Projectors, Scanners, Large Format Printers, Robots and Industrial Textile Printers.