Konica Minolta to deliver AI-driven recycled plastics
Konica Minolta has strengthened its collaboration with Malaysian manufacturer MJ Material to develop “intelligent recycled materials”, which aims to improve supply reliability and quality consistency in recycled plastics.
12 Dec 2025 | 424 Views | By PrintWeek Team
Combining Konica Minolta’s proprietary sensing and AI technologies and MJ Material’s end-to-end process from collection to production, the companies will produce recycled plastic materials to tackle challenges in the mass production of recycled materials.
The product is designed to ensure high delivery, reliability and consistent quality, using AI to enable plastic waste to be mixed under optimal conditions set by AI.
The companies aim to establish a business for the material with the hope of commercialising the offer in 2026, with MJ Material manufacturing the materials and selling them to manufacturers for electronic devices and home appliances in Asia, and Konica Minolta receiving fees for technology licensing depending on MJ Material’s revenue from its customers.
MJ Material is due to open a 51,000sqm production base next spring in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, with the planned capacity to produce 75,000tons/year.
The new production facility will use several sorting techniques for plastic waste to better remove impurities and enable efficient selection of raw materials, which can be used in the downstream processes.
Deploying intelligent recycled materials will help drive business growth for both companies and improve sustainability, Konica Minolta said.
“Based on its track record and experience of actively using recycled plastic materials, Konica Minolta deeply understands the challenges faced by customers,” said Ryuji Kamata, general manager of manufacturing and procurement for digital workplace/professional print and corporate vice president at Konica Minolta.
“With technologies and solutions to address such challenges, we will offer recycled plastic materials optimised for each customer. Through recycled plastic materials, we will help realise a sustainable society by addressing customers’ challenges and expanding this business.”
Currently, Konica Minolta uses up to 37% recycled plastics in its multifunction systems and production systems, and is considering using the new intelligent recycled plastics in its future models.
Weng Wenbin, president of MJ Material, added: “I am confident that the technology to stabilise the quality of recycled plastic materials, which was developed by Konica Minolta, helps tackle challenges encountered by many customers who use recycled plastic materials.
“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 realising a clean, waste-free society.”
MJ Material was founded in 2014 for the development and production of recycled materials using recycling and polymer technologies.
(Source: PrintWeek.com)