Mitsubishi to Establish New Company Dedicated to Printing, Paper Converting Machinery Business

TOKYO—November 27, 2009—Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has decided to abolish its Paper & Printing Machinery Division and establish a new company dedicated to printing and paper converting machinery operations effective July 1, 2010. The new company will belong to MHI's Machinery and Steel Structures Headquarters.

Specifically, the new wholly owned subsidiary will integrate MHI's current operations in printing and paper converting machinery with those of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Printing & Paper Converting Machinery Sales Co., Ltd., which now handles related sales and after-sales services. Through this integration MHI aims to form a streamlined, resilient business structure capable of responding to changes in today's severe market environment. With this initiative MHI looks to compete successfully against other companies specialized in this area.

The new company will be established by transferring MHI's current printing and paper converting machinery operations to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Printing & Paper Converting Machinery Sales. The new enterprise will handle all business relating to printing and paper converting machinery — including commercial-use printing presses (sheet-fed offset presses, web offset presses, etc.) and paper converting machinery — from design, manufacture and procurement to marketing, quality assurance and after-sales services.

The printing and paper converting machinery market was comparatively firm until last year's global economic crisis. With the crisis, capital investment has dropped sharply and is not expected to recover in the short term. In order to overcome this severe change in the business environment, and also to expand sales in emerging markets, the establishment of a streamlined, resilient company dedicated to this area of business has been a matter of urgent need for MHI.

MHI's Paper & Printing Machinery Division, part of the company's Mass & Medium-Lot Manufactured Machinery segment, has supplied printing machinery and paper converting machinery to the printing and packaging industries of Japan and abroad as a leading brand. Going forward the new company will carry out even more dynamic strategies for product development and localized marketing that will precisely respond to today's increasingly diversified customer needs.

MHI intends to work closely with the new company and thoroughly support its business development.