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IN THIS ISSUE:
The Feed
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Canon announces bid to acquire Oce; counterbid rumors abound
The Top 7
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Tips for surviving your company's holiday party
News In Brief
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Announcements from Copier Careers, Konica Minolta, Lexmark, Pitney Bowes, and Xerox
Sound Off
- Our readers respond to last month's poll
Poll-of-the-Month
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What impact, if any, has industry consolidation had on your career?
Featured Job Listings
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THE FEED
Canon Announces Bid to Acquire Oce; Counterbid Rumors Abound
On November 16th in a joint press release with Oce, Canon announced its intention to acquire the Dutch copier and printer manufacturer. Canon's offer comes just over a year after Ricoh's acquisition of Ikon, a deal which dealt a significant blow to Canon's U.S. operations. Both Canon and Oce have reported falling profits in recent quarters. Analysts expect the proposed buyout will strengthen both companies and enable the merged entity to better compete with rivals in the document imaging industry.
Of the proposed deal, Canon president Tsuneji Uchida says, “We are delighted to welcome Oce, the ideal partner in every respect, into the Canon group. Through the merger of Canon and Oce, we believe that we will be able to realize clear benefits, not only in the area of R&D, but also in terms of product mix and marketing....[We are] confident that this winning combination will contribute greatly to our goal of becoming the overall number one presence in the printing industry.”
Initial rumors of a counterbid were bolstered on the 19th, when Orbis Portfolio Management said it would not tender its 10 percent stake in Oce to Canon, asserting that Canon's bid had underpriced Oce. In a written statement, Orbis called the negotiation process “flawed” and alleged that Oce's management had not invited Konica Minolta, which has a cross-selling arrangement with Oce, to make a bid for the company. Though a spokesman for Konica Minolta said the company has no current plans to offer a counterbid, some analysts expect that one will be forthcoming—if not from Konica Minolta, then possibly from Hewlett-Packard, Kyocera, Xerox, or Toshiba.
Although the Orbis move may impact the final offer, for now it looks as if the buyout will go through. If it does, Oce will remain a separate legal entity and will become a division within Canon, with headquarters in Venlo, the Netherlands.
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THE TOP 7...
Tips for surviving your company's holiday party
Tips from the
trenches to keep your copier career on track
Even with many employers cutting back this year, most are still planning to shell out for a holiday party to thank their employees for a year's worth of hard work. Ensure that your dignity, your reputation, and your job are still intact next year by following these seven tips:
- Don't drink too much. Just because it's free doesn't mean you need to swill it down like a frat boy. Experts recommend limiting yourself to two drinks.
- Don't forget to mingle. The holiday party is a great opportunity to network with coworkers, managers, and owners who you might not normally interact with on a daily basis. Avoid the urge to chum around all night with your work friends, and instead use the party as a chance to make new contacts.
- Avoid in-depth discussions about business. At a work party, you can't avoid the topic of work altogether, but try not to overdo it. You're supposed to be having fun.
- Arrive on time, and don't leave early. Though it's not enforceable, attendance at the company party is practically mandatory. Everybody notices the people who come late and leave early. Having "better things to do" is unlikely to impress anyone, especially the boss — he's paying for you to be there, and you'd better darn well pretend that you're having a good time. (But not too good...see tip number one.)
- Dress for success. Sure, it's a party. But don't forget that it's a company party. Use common sense, look professional, and avoid anything too sexy, casual, eccentric, or otherwise inappropriate.
- Don't bring weird guests. When Leonardo DiCaprio brings his mother with him to the Oscars, it's touching. When you bring your mother to the company party, it's not. It's an unwritten rule that "so-and-so and guest" means "so-and-so and date." A spouse, a boyfriend, or a girlfriend are all appropriate guests. Your cousin Larry, your crazy neighbor lady, or your kids? Probably not.
- Be gracious. Parties don't just happen by themselves. Somebody pays for them, and somebody plans them. Make sure to thank the people who made it happen.
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NEWS IN BRIEF
Copier Careers Is Now On Twitter!
Follow us at
www.twitter.com/copiercareers.
Konica Minolta Launches New 72mm-Wide Inkjet Print Head For Industrial Use.
The KM1024 series print head was developed to meet industrial needs for higher printing quality. It has twice the number of nozzles and is double the width of the KM512 series inkjet print head that is currently being used by many of the company's industrial customers. The KM1024 also consumes 50 percent less power than the KM512, making it a more environmentally-sound choice.
Rhodia Successfully Reduces Its Printing Costs and Paper Consumption With Lexmark.
After one year in partnership, Lexmark and Rhodia, a world leader in specialty chemicals, announced the first results of Rhodia's worldwide printer fleet consolidation. At the project's start, Rhodia hoped to reduce printing costs at each site by 20 percent; that goal has been exceeded and was, in many cases, closer to a 40 percent savings. "Lexmark's approach met all our expectations at the financial and environmental level by reducing our paper consumption by almost 60 percent," said Christine Peron, director of IT operations for Rhodia Europe. "We completed this project knowing that our business issues had been heard and understood. Lexmark also developed a printing strategy that was tailored to each of our sites and they helped us change our printing behavior."
Pitney Bowes Files Suit Against Zumbox for Patent Infringement.
In October, Pitney Bowes filed a lawsuit against Zumbox ( www.zumbox.com) alleging that Zumbox's paperless mail service for consumers infringes Pitney Bowes patents. Traditionally known for its expertise in physical mail, Pitney Bowes has sought to expand its capabilities to include online communication solutions.
Ingersoll Rand Signs Nine-Year Enterprise Print Services (EPS) Contract with Xerox.
The contract brings multiple output devices, print budgets, and vendor support systems under Xerox management. As a result, Ingersoll Rand expects to reduce operational costs by up to 30 percent and improve productivity with faster, easier ways to manage the volume of documents for its diverse base of commercial and industrial customers. "Xerox shares our long-term vision for well-managed print across our entire company," said William B. Gauld, senior VP of Ingersoll Rand. "While they optimize our print environment to meet our cost savings, environmental sustainability, and customer service goals, we can stay focused on our primary vision of inspiring progress for our customers."
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SOUND OFF: Our readers speak
Last month, we asked you to respond to the following question: "Which has had the most significant impact on the copier industry in the past ten years: the digital revolution, managed print services, industry consolidation, the economy, or something else?" Three-hundred of you participated in the poll. This is how you voted:
The digital revolution — 49%
Managed print services —22%
The economy — 16%
Industry consolidation — 11%
Something else — 2%
One participant gave us a good laugh when, after voting for “industry consolidation,” he copied and pasted the big Canon/Oce news release into the comments section. We won't print that comment here (see “The Feed” for more information on Canon's plans to buy Oce), but we did decide to share these:
"Digital technology changed everything to make room for consolidation and MPS."
"I'm surprised that color isn't one of the choices."
"I believe two factors have greatly impacted the copier/printer industry since 2000. Number one is the availability of multiple document management applications and the number of sales teams that have been educated in the sale of combination-based (hardware and software) solutions. Number two is the optional print interfaces available on the newer digital units. Incorporating print management solutions with these new boxes has been instrumental in the growth of our company and my service department."
"The digital revolution has essentially opened up the door to document management opportunities. It's been much more enlightening to talk about document management, production, and distribution than it was talking about 'speeds and feeds'. This has forced decision makers to be more informed about how MFPs can increase office efficiency."
"While I chose 'digital revolution', I believe it takes the top spot by only a slim margin. Furthermore, I believe that if you asked the question twelve months from now, my answer would change and so would the results of your poll. Industry consolidation and the economy are changing the industry almost daily."
"Document solutions have changed the way users print, scan, capture, distribute, and retrieve documents—I can point to Kaiser Permanente California as they move towards a paperless environment for creating and storing patient records."
"Managed print services has been the best thing for business since paper."
"Copier/MFP manufacturers really need to get behind document management software to reduce paper usage. The ones that are embracing this will be winning the business in the future."
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POLL OF THE MONTH
What impact, if any, has industry consolidation had on your career?
1. It's had a positive impact.
2. It's had a negative impact.
3. It has not affected me.
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JOB LISTINGS
We have over 700 jobs currently listed online 
Here are just a few of the jobs currently listed:
Major Account Sales Representative - So Cal 
QA Manager - Washington DC
Sales Manager - North Carolina
Inventory/Parts Manager - Louisiana
Sales Manager - Minneapolis
Sales Representative - Kentucky
Canon Field Technician - Texas
Sales Representative - Breckenridge, CO
Wide Format Tech - upstate NY
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Copier Careers®
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