"Canon" - the simple word when is called, every body think about the cameras, lens.. with the best quality. From 1933, from the small room, nowadays we have the global corporation of cameras products. Would you like to know about the history of that? Please read more it on www.canon.com.
A modest beginning in a small room
In 1933, a small laboratory dedicated to making high-quality cameras was set up in a simple apartment room in the Roppongi area of Tokyo. At the time, all high-quality cameras were European with the majority coming from Germany.
It was in this small room that young people with a big dream earnestly began their work on producing a high-quality Japanese camera, marking the beginning of Canon.
Through hard work and with an enterprising spirit, they eventually succeeded in building a prototype, which was named Kwanon after the Buddhist goddess of mercy. The following year, in 1935, Japan's first-ever 35mm focal-planeshutter camera, the Hansa Canon, was born, along with the Canon brand.
Striving for the world's best camera
In 1950, Canon's first president, Takeshi Mitarai, went to America for the first time to attend an international trade fair. Having seen modern factories and a high standard of living first hand, upon his return, he built a fireproof factory of steel-reinforced concrete in the Shimomaruko area of Tokyo, which he saw as essential for Canon to succeed in doing business with the world at large. Mitarai also made clear his respect for humanity by stressing the importance of the San-ji, or Three Selfs, spirit, the guiding principle for Canon employees. In 1955, Canon made its first step into the global market with the opening of a U.S. office in New York City. In 1957, Canon set up its sole European distributor, Canon Europa, in Geneva, Switzerland. By 1967 exports already topped 50% of the company's total sales.
The challenge of diversification
Soon after its founding, Canon was hard at work in 1941 on diversifying itself with the introduction of Japan's first indirect X-ray camera and other products. In the 1960s, the company took further steps toward diversification by adding electrical, physical and chemical technologies to its optical and precision technologies. In 1964, Canon entered the office equipment market with the debut of the world's first 10-key electronic calculator. In 1967, the management slogan “cameras in the right hand, business machines in the left” was unveiled and in 1969 the company changed its name from Canon Camera Co., Inc. to Canon Inc. Canon took on the challenge of developing Japan's first plain-paper copying machine, which it introduced in 1970, and realized further diversification from one challenging field to the next.
Averting disaster with the Premier Company Plan
By 1970, Canon grew to 44.8 billion yen in sales and more than 5,000 employees. But hit by dollar and oil shocks, followed by problems with a defective electronic calculator display component in 1974, the company fell on hard times. In the first half of 1975, it failed to pay a dividend for the first time since becoming a public company. In 1976, Canon unveiled its Premier Company Plan, an ambitious strategy to transform Canon into an “excellent global company” through such means as introducing a vertical business group onstitution and establishing a horizontal development, production and sales system. The plan proposed high ideals and pooled the strength of its employees, enabling the company to promptly recover.
Canon's second inauguration
Canon continued to grow under the Premier Company Plan. With the dawn of the personal computer age, Canon introduced to the world a series of products never before seen, among them a personal copying machine based on an all-in-one cartridge system, a laser printer with a semiconductor laser, and a Bubble Jet inkjet printer. Canon also began promoting global production in earnest on the road to becoming an excellent global company. Then, in 1988, the 51st anniversary of the company's founding, Canon announced its second inauguration and unveiled its corporate philosophy of kyosei, an unfamiliar term at the time. It also began promoting such progressive and environmentally sound activities as toner cartridge recycling in addition to globalizing its development sites.
The Excellent Global Corporation Plan
Canon had developed unprecedented technologies and carefully nurtured them to create business opportunities and products unrivaled by any other company. But by the mid-1990s, the business division system that had been in place since the 1970s was showing signs of wear. Canon also carried debt of more than 840 billion yen, meaning the company needed to improve its financial constitution if it was to carry out long-term R&D projects and launch new businesses. Fujio Mitarai became Canon's 6th company president in 1995, and in 1996 the Excellent Global Corporation Plan was launched. Transforming the corporate mindset from partial to total optimization and from a focus on sales to a focus on profits, the new plan was the start of the innovations that characterize today's Canon.
The history of Canon:
1933
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Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory established
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1934
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Kwanon camera prototype developed
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1936
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Hansa Canon camera introduced
Hansa Canon 35mm focal-plane-shutter camera
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1937
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Precision Optical Industry, Co., Ltd. founded
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1941
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Japan's first indirect X-ray camera introduced
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1947
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Company name changed to Canon Camera Co., Inc.
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1955
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New York branch office opened
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1957
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Sole European distributor, Canon Europa, established
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1961
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Canonet camera introduced
Canonet Electric Eye (EE) camera
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1964
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Canola 130 calculator introduced
Canola 130, the world's first 10-key electronic calculator
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1967
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"Cameras in the right hand, business machines in the left."
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1969
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Company name changed to Canon Inc.
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1970
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NP-1100 copying machine introduced
NP-1100, Japan's first plain-paper copying machine
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1970
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PPC-1 mask aligner introduced
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1976
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Premier Company Plan launched
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1976
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AE-1 SLR camera introduced
AE-1, the world's first SLR camera with a built-in microcomputer
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1979
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LBP-10 laser printer introduced
LBP-10, the world's first laser printer with a semiconductor laser
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1982
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PC-10/20 personal copying machine introduced
PC-10/20, the world's first personal copying machine with an all-in-one cartridge system
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1985
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BJ-80 inkjet printer introduced
BJ-80, the world's first inkjet printer using Bubble Jet technology
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1987
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CLC-1 digital full-color copying machine introduced
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1987
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EOS650 AF SLR camera introduced
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1988
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Corporate philosophy of kyosei introduced with company's second inauguration
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1990
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Toner cartridge collection and recycling program launched
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1996
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Excellent Global Corporation Plan launched
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2000
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Canon Inc. ADRs listed on the New York Stock Exchange
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2000
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PowerShot S100 DIGITAL ELPH (DIGITAL IXUS) compact digital camera introduced
PowerShot S100 DIGITAL ELPH (DIGITAL IXUS in other areas) compact digital camera
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2000
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iR series of network multifunction devices introduced
iR3250 network multifunction device
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2002
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EOS-1Ds digital SLR camera introduced
EOS-1Ds high-end professional digital SLR camera
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2006
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imagePROGRAF iPF9000 printer introduced
imagePROGRAF iPF9000 large-format inkjet printer
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2007
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imagePRESS C7000VP digital production printing system introduced
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2009
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imageRUNNER ADVANCE network multifunction device introduced
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2011
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Excellent Global Corporation Plan Phase IV launched
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2012
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EOS C300 digital cinema camera introduced
EOS C300 digital cinema camera
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