INNOVATION and development by a Kent company has brought Japanese imaging giant Fujifilm to the county.

The multinational has become parent company to Broadstairs-based ink manufacturer Sericol Ltd in a deal worth more than £120million.

At an official ceremony, Fujifilm Sericol – as the company is now known – welcomed the president of Fujifilm, Shigetaka Komori, to the new Thanet operation.

Mr Komori said he welcomed the new relationship with Sericol and looked forward to the company playing a key part in Fujifilm’s focus on expanding markets.

He added that Sericol’s recent advances in the areas of UV ink and digital ink had strengthened its position as an international printing market leader and could lead Fujifilm Sericol into the growing markets of ink jet printing and wide format digital ink usage.

Tracing the history of the company, the president of Fujifilm Sericol, Ed Carhart, said the uncertainty of recent years for Sericol, including its period of ownership by an investment banking house, coincided with some of the Thanet company’s finest achievements.

"In the last few years Sericol has consolidated its position as a global leader in the screen market with customers in more than 80 countries. It is also the global leader in optical media for the CD and DVD industry and a growing player in the narrow web market."

The company is also the largest manufacturing employer in east Kent and the multi-million pound investment by the Japanese will go some way to easing concerns for the job market in Thanet after the regions’ other major employer, Pfizer, announced it would be cutting its workforce by 400 as it restructured operations.

And to emphasise Fujifilm Sericol’s ongoing interest and investment in the region, Mr Komori presented local schools and Canterbury Christ Church University with cheque totalling £27,000.