Konica Minolta confirms cause of factory fire

July 19, 2021

Konica Minolta reported on the explosion and fire in its Japanese toner factory on 6 July, giving regular updates on the progress of the investigation.

The latest notice regarding the fire at Konica Minolta Supplies Manufacturing’s Tatsuno Factory announced that the company has identified the cause for the fire on one of the production lines.

The notice said: “Based on process data at the time of occurrence, we identified that the fire was caused by static electricity within the production equipment. We will take countermeasures after obtaining the opinions of third-party organization specializing in occupational safety regarding the method of identifying the cause, countermeasures and safety.”

Konica Minolta is expecting to resume operations in early August and is working on the preparation for the restart of production.

The company added: “Konica Minolta Supplies Manufacturing’s Kofu Factory, located in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, also produces toner for the Group. Including inventories, we will take all possible measures to avoid any inconvenience to our customers and the markets.

“The Konica Minolta Group sincerely addresses the incident and works on securing safety in the area and preventing the recurrence.”