InfoPrint Solutions sets up AP base in S'pore

SINGAPORE--InfoPrint Solutions Company, a joint venture between IBM and Ricoh, officially opened its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore Thursday. The local office will spearhead business development, marketing and other functions for its regional operations.

InfoPrint Solutions' regional headcount, which has approximately doubled since the joint venture was formed last year, is expected to grow by another 30 percent from now till end-2008. The company provides printers and related software and services for enterprises.

The new hires in the Asia-Pacific region are part of InfoPrint Solutions' overall plans to hire 500 new staff globally. Separately, the company will absorb 1,200 IBM employees--who are not part of the new hires--on Jun. 1.

The new headcount will raise InfoPrint Solutions' global staff strength from some 1,500 now, to about 3,200 by end-2008.

New hires in the Asia-Pacific region will fill positions that include application development, systems integration, customer sales and after-sales support, for the company's eight regional offices including Singapore, China, India and Australia.

InfoPrint Solutions said in a statement, it will make significant investments across the region over the next three years in job creation, skills training, business development, product rollouts and other areas. The sum to be invested will depend on business needs and demands, the company said.

It expects total Asia-Pacific revenue to grow by 100 percent over the next three years. The region currently contributes 5.9 percent of its global revenue of US$1 billion.

Benoît Chatelard, the company's Singapore-based general manager for Asia-Pacific, said in a statement, this region offers the greatest opportunity for business growth across the company's four business divisions.