Kodak Plans Focus on Printing Following Bankruptcy

If Kodak carries through with a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the coming weeks as media reports suggest, it could mark the end of a rich, 131-year history as the king of all-things related to photos and cameras, according to a report by MarketWatch.com.

In the report, Rafferty Capital Markets Analyst Mark Kaufman says the company likely will completely exit the consumer photo and camera business.

"Forget about it. It's not making money now," Kaufman, told MarketWatch.com.

Instead, the plan would be for Kodak (NYSE:EK) to sell off all of its photo business, unload an extremely profitable chunk of its massive patent library and focus almost exclusively on digital printing as a business-to-business company.

"It's not a consumer business, its business-to-business. That's what you're going to have," Kaufman said in the report.

It is not all "doom and gloom" this change would be good news for the Dayton operations, where Kodak has 570 employees at a facility that makes inkjet printers, which are reportedly competing well in the marketplace against such rivals as Hewlett-Packard Company and Cannon.  According to an article published by the Dayton Business Journal, "With the company already having discussed plans for possible growth in Dayton through state and local incentives, an emphasis on the printing side of the business would make those plans more likely to happen. That could lead to more jobs in Dayton and a stronger business for Kodak going forward".

If the reports of how Kodak would look after emerging from bankruptcy are correct, the company may very well boost its operations in Dayton. In fact, the company already has expressed interest in growing locally.

In late September, the state of Ohio approved a tax credit package worth $2.9 million over 10 years to entice Kodak to expand in the Dayton region. In addition, the city of Kettering recently committed a $435,000 grant to the company.

State officials said if the company decides to expand in Kettering, it would invest at least $7.5 million in new manufacturing machinery as well as research and development equipment to help position the Kettering facility for future growth. Read the entire article from the Dayton Business Journal here.

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