The History of
Canon 1996-2005
The Excellent Global Corporation Plan-I

[Enterprise] The Excellent Global Corporation Plan is initiated.

[Enterprise] The Fuji-Susono Research Park opens in Susono, Japan.

[Enterprise] Industrial Resource Technologies, Inc., a toner cartridge-recycling site, is established in Virginia, U.S.A.

[Enterprise] Canon Latin America, Inc. moves to Miami, U.S.A.

[Enterprise] Canon Virginia ships its 5,000th remanufactured copying machine.

[Products] The ELPH (IXUS in other regions), a 2x zoom compact camera with the Advanced Photo System, is introduced.

[Products] Marketing commences for the FPA-3000EX3 stepper, which uses an excimer laser.

[Enterprise] Green Procurement standards, promoting the purchase of environmentally friendly components and materials, are issued.

[Enterprise] Canon (China) Co., Ltd. is established.

[Enterprise] A new building is opened in the Kosugi Office of Canon Inc. as a base for business solutions and information technology activities.

[Enterprise] Tianjin Canon Co, Ltd, a copying machine manufacturing site, is established in the PRC

[Enterprise] Camera production reaches 100 million units.

[Products] Canon enters the digital video camcorder market with the OPTURA (MV1 in other regions).

[Enterprise] Canon forms the Management Reformation Committee.

[Enterprise] Canon commences Group-wide production reform activities.

[Enterprise] Copying machine remanufacturing commences in Japan. Canon thus maintains such operations in Europe, the U.S. and Japan.

[Enterprise] Canon Software Development Center is established in New Delhi, India.

[Enterprise] Canon Inc. acquires equity in Tokyo Denshi Sekei Inc. (today, Canon i-tech, Inc.)

[Enterprise] Beijing PeCan Information System Co., Ltd. (today, Canon Information Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd.), a joint venture with Peking University, is established to develop software.

[Enterprise] Canon Middle East B.V. is established in the U.A.E.

[Products] The DIGISUPER 25 xs broadcasting lens for high-definition television (HDTV) is introduced.

[Products] The EOS-3 SLR camera with a 45-point area AF is introduced for professionals and semiprofessionals.

[Products] Marketing begins for the CXDI-11 X-ray digital camera, with a large-area sensor.

[Enterprise] The Ayase Office opens with the goal of reinforcing the R&D structure for semiconductor-related devices.

[Enterprise] Oita Canon Materials Inc. is established.

[Products] Canon optical technologies are applied in the Subaru, one of the world's largest astronomical telescopes.

[Products] The BJC-8200 full-color inkjet printer is introduced, featuring a new printing head technology, New "MicroFine Droplet Technology."

[Products] The compact GT270 eyeglass display is introduced.

[Enterprise] Canon Inc. begins listing its American Depositary Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

[Enterprise] Canon holds Canon EXPO 2000 global technology and product exhibitions in New York, Paris and Tokyo.

[Enterprise] Canon receives the Miles Supreme Award from the Society of Japanese Value Engineering.

[Enterprise] The Optics R&D Center opens in Utsunomiya, Japan.

[Products] Canon receives the prestigious Copier of the Future IEA-DSM Award of Excellence.

[Products] The PowerShot S100 DIGITAL ELPH (DIGITAL IXUS in other regions), a digital compact camera, is introduced.

[Products] The iR series new-generation network MFD is introduced, providing document collation and distribution functions.

[Products] The EOS D30 digital SLR camera is introduced, featuring a CMOS sensor.

[Enterprise] Phase II of the Excellent Global Corporation Plan is initiated.

[Enterprise] Canon forms the Management Strategy Committee.

[Enterprise] Canon Europe Ltd. is established in London to cooperate with Canon Europa N.V. in the Netherlands to reinforce regional operations.

[Enterprise] Canon Vietnam Co., Ltd. is established in Hanoi as a production site for inkjet printers.

[Enterprise] Three companies in the Canon Group establish a copying machine production site in Suzhou, PRC.

[Enterprise] Canon Zhongshan Business Machines Co., Ltd., the Group's third laser printer production site in the PRC, is established.

[Products] Canon develops the Multi-Layered Diffractive Optical Element technology.

[Products] Canon introduces the first "camera direct" products, which allow digital pictures to be printed using an inkjet printer directly from a camera.

[Products] The imageRUNNER 3300 (iR3300 in other regions), featuring environmentally conscious technologies, is introduced.

[Enterprise] Fujio Mitarai, Canon Inc. president and CEO, is one of the first executives to receive a Business Reformer Commendation from the Japanese government.

[Enterprise] Canon Inc.'s new headquarters building opens in Shimomaruko, Tokyo.

[Enterprise] Ueno Canon Materials, Inc. is established.

[Products] The EOS-1Ds pro-model digital SLR camera, featuring Canon’s 11.1-megapixel full-frame 35 mm CMOS sensor, is introduced.

[Products] The LBP-2810/2710 color laser printer, featuring the newly developed Four-Color Vertical In-Line Engine, is introduced.

[Products] The Color imageRUNNER C3200 (iR C3200 in other regions), a color network MFD with a newly developed Color iR Controller, is introduced.

[Enterprise] Canon Aptex Inc. and Copyer Co., Ltd. merge to form Canon Finetech Inc.

[Enterprise] Fukushima Canon Inc. is established as a base for high value-added mass production for the inkjet printer business.

[Enterprise] Canon (China) Co., Ltd. establishes 15 branch offices.

[Enterprise] Canon Technical Information Services Inc. is established.

[Enterprise] Implementation of an eco-friendly product transport modal shift begins.

[Products] The DIGISUPER 100 xs broadcasting lens, featuring the world's highest zoom lens range is introduced.

[Products] The i70 (Bubble Jet i70 in other regions), an ultra-compact inkjet notebook printer, is introduced.

[Products] The W8200, a large format printer using pigmented ink, is introduced.

[Products] Canon begins shipping the 80-nanometer resolution ArF scanning stepper FPA-6000AS4.

[Products] The EOS DIGITAL REBEL (EOS 300D DIGITAL in other regions), a high-resolution compact digital SLR AF camera, is introduced.

[Products] The PowerShot S400 DIGITAL ELPH (DIGITAL IXUS 400 in other regions), which incorporates the DIGIC imaging processor, is introduced.

[Products] The Color imageRUNNER C6800 (iR C6800 in other regions), a new color network MFD, which implements RoHS Directive in advance, is introduced.

[Enterprise] Canon changes the stock trading unit from 1,000 shares to 100 shares.

[Enterprise] Canon holds its first briefing for individual investors.

[Enterprise] The Yako Development Center is completed for the concentration of R&D sections of inkjet printers.

[Enterprise] Canon Precision Inc. merges with Hirosaki Seiki, Inc.

[Enterprise] Canon creates Canon Ecology Industry Inc. and Canon Semiconductor Equipment Inc. from Canon N.T.C., Inc.

[Enterprise] Canon Ru LLC is established in Moscow, Russia.

[Enterprise] Igari Mold Co., Ltd. becomes a wholly owned subsidiary through a share exchange.

[Enterprise] Inkjet printer shipments reach 100 million units.

[Products] The OPTURA500 (MVX35i in other regions) digital camcorder, which incorporates the DIGIC DV imaging processor that delivers high image quality for still photos and video, is introduced.

[Products] The PIXMA iP8500 inkjet printer featuring an all new design and the ChromaLife100 system is introduced.

[Products] The REALiS SX50 (XEED SX50 in other regions), a multi-media projector incorporating the newly developed AISYS optical system, is introduced.

[Enterprise] Canon holds Canon EXPO 2005, a showcase for Canon’s new products and future technologies, in New York, Paris, and Tokyo.

[Enterprise] The Compliance Card is distributed to 110,000 Canon Group employees.

[Enterprise] Construction of the leading-edge technology building at the Canon headquarters in Shimomaruko, is completed.

[Enterprise] Canon concludes a cooperative research agreement with Tokyo Institute of Technology.

[Enterprise] Canon and Microsoft Corporation of the U.S. agree to collaborate in the field of image processing technology.

[Enterprise] The Canon Group obtains combined ISO14001 certification.

[Enterprise] ANELVA Corporation and NEC Machinery Corporation are made consolidated subsidiaries.

[Products] Canon receives the Imperial Award for Innovations for the invention of a large-screen sensor for real-time X-ray imaging systems.

[Products] The XL H1 high-definition video camcorder is introduced.