Konica Minolta develops intelligent materials

Konica Minolta has expanded its partnership with MJ Material Technology SDN BHD to establish a business for 'intelligent recycled materials', characterized by superior supply reliability and quality consistency, combining Konica Minolta's proprietary sensing and AI technologies and MJ Material's end-to-end process from collection to production.

Conventional recycled materials use plastic waste as raw materials. To manufacture recycled plastic materials with a certain level of quality, it is necessary to purchase high-quality waste plastics with a high degree of purity and stability, which is a challenge due to limited supply. When manufacturing resin parts from recycled plastic materials, performance variations are greater than those of virgin materials, increasing the risk of defects.

The intelligent recycled materials are set to be launched at MJ Material's new production base in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which will open in spring 2026. The new production facility uses several sorting techniques for plastic waste that can better remove impurities and enable efficient selection of raw materials which can be used in downstream processes.

Konica Minolta's proprietary sensing and AI technologies enable plastic waste to be mixed under optimal conditions set by AI, giving the recycled plastics almost the same physical properties and functions as virgin materials. This is expected to enable recycled plastic materials to be produced from a wide range of waste plastics as raw materials, ensuring a stable supply and reducing the cost of raw materials.

'Based on its track record and experience of actively using recycled plastic materials, Konica Minolta deeply understands the challenges faced by customers,' commented Ryuji Kamata, general manager, manufacturing and procurement for digital workplace/professional print, corporate vice president at Konica Minolta. 'With technologies and solutions to address such challenges, we will offer recycled plastic materials optimized for each customer.'

In addition, Konica Minolta will use its proprietary AI optimization model to propose molding conditions optimized for each part, enabling mass production while consistently ensuring the quality required by customers. Thanks to their high and consistent quality, intelligent recycled materials are suitable for electronic devices, electric home appliances and vehicles, which require stable material properties.

'I am confident that the technology to stabilize the quality of recycled plastic materials, which was developed by Konica Minolta, helps tackle challenges encountered by many customers who use recycled plastic materials,' added Weng Wenbin, president of MJ Material. 'I believe that the combination of this technology and our well-established manufacturing philosophy will enhance the value of recycled plastic materials and broaden their application, thereby realizing a clean, waste-free society.'

Konica Minolta and MJ Material have been working on verification in the market with the aim of achieving commercialization in fiscal year 2026. MJ Material will manufacture intelligent recycled materials and sell them to its customers in Asia, who are end-product manufacturers for electronic devices and home appliances. Konica Minolta will receive fees for technology licensing depending on MJ Material's revenue from its customers.

Konica Minolta started the manufacture of recycled plastic materials for its MFPs in fiscal year 2012. Today, up to 37 percent recycled plastics (post-consumer recycled) are used in its multifunction systems and production systems.