Fujifilm, the smile behind technology

Interview with Naoki Hama, President and CEO of Fujifilm Business Innovation
 
By Michela Pibiri | On PRINTlovers 103
 
Fujifilm turns 90 and launches a new purpose: “Giving our world more smiles”, which expresses how people’s happiness is at the heart of a revolution of values in the technology industry. Not only that: the distribution of the new line of Fujifilm-branded multifunction office printers in Europe has started in Italy, while a cartridge recycling and regeneration program has started in the Netherlands. Precisely on the occasion of these two events and the appointment with Drupa in Düsseldorf, the President and CEO of Fujifilm Business Innovation Naoki Hama took a trip to Europe with several stops, including a visit to the new Fujifilm Italia headquarters in Segrate and an afternoon in Franciacorta dedicated to wine tasting, of which Hama is passionate and a producer in Japan. And it is right there, in the inspiring setting of the Bellavista winery, that we met and interviewed him for PRINTlovers.
 
You have a long experience within Fujifilm and have actively contributed to making it what it is today. What does your role consist of and what was your path to Fujifilm Business Innovation?
Since 2022 I have been Director of FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation and President and CEO, Representative Director of FUJIFILM Business Innovation, as well as Corporate Vice President of FUJIFILM Corporation.  As a group we have four pillars: Healthcare, Electronics, Business Innovation and Imaging. I am responsible for the Business Innovation segment: not only offering multifunction devices, printers and digital printing equipment but related solutions and services.
Before arriving at this role, I had a long journey. I joined what was then called Fuji Photo Film Co. in 1986, after graduating in Economics from Keio University in Tokyo. For the first six and a half years, I oversaw managing production in the factory, where I learned the basics of my job. From 1992 onwards, I have always been involved in the development of new products outside of photography. In 2000, the demand for photographic film was at its peak, then, with the advent of digital photography, it fell by 20% each year, to almost zero in 2005. At that time, as head of new solutions and products, I oversaw the development of liquid crystal film for LCD screens, which was crucial, between 2003 and 2010, for the transition to flat screens. We supplied this flexible film to 80% of the market, making a crucial contribution to the transformation. After this phase and the creation of the Healthcare division, which produces devices, systems, and services for the medical sector, in 2019 I entered the inkjet graphics segment to restructure its activities in view of an increase in demand. In 2021, the Business Innovation division was born and in 2022 I became its President.

How has your trip to Europe been so far?
The main purpose of my trip was to attend Drupa in Düsseldorf, the leading trade exhibition for the global printing market that skipped the 2020 edition and returned after eight years. Many things have changed in this period: eight years ago, the office segment was still represented by Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd., born from the joint venture between Fujifilm and Xerox, and exhibited separately from Fujifilm. At this Drupa, Business Innovation made its debut, born after the end of the collaboration with Xerox, and Fujifilm exhibited as a single team together with the Graphic Communications Division, presenting all its printing technologies together.
Another important stop was Tilburg, in the Netherlands, where we inaugurated the Toner Cartridge Recycling Center in the presence of the press and local authorities. Finally, I arrived in Italy to meet the dealers who will distribute our product and personally express our commitment to them. Here I also met the entire Fujifilm Italia team.
 
How will the Toner Cartridge Recycling Center in Tilburg work and what will be its advantages?
The life of office multifunction printers does not end with their sale: of course, they need toners – the so-called consumables – which Fujifilm continues to supply. In a logic of sustainability, we have decided to recover used toners: the containers can be washed, refilled and reused. These operations are carried out in Tilburg, a municipality with which we have been collaborating for over 35 years, in a plant powered by 60% wind energy and 40% solar energy, which makes it a symbolic production center of our commitment to sustainability. We also plan to collect and recondition, by prior agreement, our competitors' toners, starting from the European countries where the distribution of our range of Apeos multifunction printers is already active, first Italy and the United Kingdom. We also expect that in 5-7 years, the multifunction printers currently being distributed will begin to require maintenance and replacement: the used ones will be recovered, dismantled and 84% of the components will be reused, while the remainder will be replaced with new ones, as is already the case in Japan. Tilburg, in addition to its environmental policies, is strategic for its central position in Europe which optimizes logistics.
 
What is the role of Italy in Fujifilm's strategies?
For Fujifilm, Italy has always been an important country, as demonstrated by the European launch of the Apeos printer series. Before this European launch – followed by the launch in the United Kingdom, which will also be followed by France and Spain – the A3 multifunction devices for the office were available under the Fujifilm brand only in the Asia-Pacific region. In Italy there is a work ethic that ensures that we understand each other and get along, and a culture rich in innovation in all sectors, not least fashion and design. In addition to the company that markets Business Innovation products, in Italy there is also an important research center for healthcare IT development, which make it a key country in the Group's strategies.
 
How does the new purpose “Giving our world more smiles” interpret Fujifilm's vision?
Fujifilm was born as a company specialized in photography and over time it has diversified by bringing into the company many people with different cultural backgrounds and skills. In relation to this great diversity and richness we asked ourselves: what should we really give importance to? We wanted to find a common and coherent line for everyone, activating a discussion in all the areas of the world in which we are present. Recurring keywords emerged: one of these was “smile”. Precisely because we were born with photography, smiling has always been part of the very essence and reason for being of our technologies. But smiling is contagious, when I smile I make others smile too and this is a value that unites us all. We decided to launch this message and extend it to all our activities, to transmit it to our stakeholders and our customers through all Fujifilm employees who in ten years will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the company. The direct involvement of all the people who work in the Group is essential for us: here in Italy we have brought together the entire Italian team, we have listened to the personal experiences of a group of employees, so that the company welcomes the personal story of each one and there is a cohesion of values between people and the company. This is part of our contribution to society.