As Fujifilm South Africa celebrates its tenth anniversary in the country, the technology group has unveiled a new head office in Sandton.
Marking a new chapter for the company’s presence in South Africa, the new 999 m² five-storey facility incorporates the Fujifilm Technology Centre Africa to showcase latest healthcare, large format printing and camera products.
The opening of the newly constructed building, which also houses office space for employees, boardrooms, a Fujifilm repair centre and a 30-seater auditorium for training purposes, coincides with Fujifilm South Africa’s ten-year anniversary celebration in South Africa, having first opened its doors in March 2012 as a subsidiary of Fujifilm Holdings Corporation.
“Our new head office emphasises Fujifilm’s ongoing commitment to the country, having celebrated a successful decade of local presence,” says Fujifilm South Africa’s MD Taro Kawano.
“This beautiful building is testament to the hard work of everyone who contributed. It shows what can be achieved through team effort and dedication. Fujifilm South Africa is proud to now be able to better serve our South African customers and contribute to their growth,” he says.
Kawano believes that Fujifilm can play a significant part in the future of South Africa through innovative printing and imaging solutions, as well as contributing to African healthcare through Fujifilm’s medical technologies.
The company moved its Fujifilm Technology Centre Africa – the only Fujifilm Technology Centre in Africa – from its previous location at the Fujifilm warehouse in Roodepoort to the new premises in Sandton.
The centre comprises two floors, providing a demo centre for Fujifilm’s different departments to showcase a myriad of innovative solutions to customers.
This includes products from medical systems, such as radiography, mammography, pathology and X-ray diagnostics, and graphic communication, such as wide format printing, packaging, commercial digital and commercial offset, as well as imaging solutions, including Instax instant cameras and printers, Fujifilm X-series and GFX mirrorless cameras.
The facility’s 30-seater auditorium enables Fujifilm South Africa to offer product training to customers, run photography workshops and host events.
Fujifilm’s head office, which followed the opening of a new Fujifilm office and repair centre in Cape Town during 2021 and the building of the Fujifilm warehouse in Roodepoort in 2017, was designed by Empowered Space Architects.
The offices were constructed, from March 2022 until handover in January 2023, by Bantry Construction, with its design falling in line with Fujifilm Holdings’ climate action targets of producing net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by the financial year ending March 2041.
“The 18 Holt Street office is set to meet this goal, having been designed with the help of a green energy consultant,” explains Kawano, concluding that the building incorporates the use of solar power panels with a capacity of 65 kVA, biometric access control, motion sensors, day/night lighting and energy efficient plumbing that consumes less water.