OPEN

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

History of Enterprise
year
History of Products
1996
  • The Excellent Global Corporation Plan is initiated.
  • The Fuji-Susono Research Park opens in Susono, Japan.
  • Industrial Resource Technologies, Inc., a toner cartridge-recycling site, is established in Virginia, U.S.A.
  • Canon Latin America, Inc. moves to Miami, U.S.A.
  • Canon Virginia ships its 5,000th remanufactured copying machine.
1996
  • The ELPH (IXUS in other regions), a 2x zoom compact camera with the Advanced Photo System, is introduced.
    ELPH / IXUS

    ELPH / IXUS

  • Marketing commences for the FPA-3000EX3 stepper, which uses an excimer laser.
1997
  • Green Procurement standards, promoting the purchase of environmentally friendly components and materials, are issued.
  • Canon (China) Co., Ltd. is established.
  • A new building is opened in the Kosugi Office of Canon Inc. as a base for business solutions and information technology activities.
  • Tianjin Canon Co, Ltd, a copying machine manufacturing site, is established in the PRC
  • Camera production reaches 100 million units.
1997
  • Canon enters the digital video camcorder market with the OPTURA (MV1 in other regions).
1998
  • Canon forms the Management Reformation Committee.
  • Canon commences Group-wide production reform activities.
  • Copying machine remanufacturing commences in Japan. Canon thus maintains such operations in Europe, the U.S. and Japan.
  • Canon Software Development Center is established in New Delhi, India.
  • Canon Inc. acquires equity in Tokyo Denshi Sekei Inc. (today, Canon i-tech, Inc.)
  • Beijing PeCan Information System Co., Ltd. (today, Canon Information Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd.), a joint venture with Peking University, is established to develop software.
  • Canon Middle East B.V. is established in the U.A.E.
1998
  • The DIGISUPER 25 xs broadcasting lens for high-definition television (HDTV) is introduced.
  • The EOS-3 SLR camera with a 45-point area AF is introduced for professionals and semiprofessionals.
  • Marketing begins for the CXDI-11 X-ray digital camera, with a large-area sensor.
1999
  • The Ayase Office opens with the goal of reinforcing the R&D structure for semiconductor-related devices.
  • Oita Canon Materials Inc. is established.
1999
  • Canon optical technologies are applied in the Subaru, one of the world's largest astronomical telescopes.
  • The BJC-8200 full-color inkjet printer is introduced, featuring a new printing head technology, New "MicroFine Droplet Technology."
  • The compact GT270 eyeglass display is introduced.
2000
  • Canon Inc. begins listing its American Depositary Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
    Canon Inc. begins listing its American Depositary Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

  • Canon holds Canon EXPO 2000 global technology and product exhibitions in New York, Paris and Tokyo.
  • Canon receives the Miles Supreme Award from the Society of Japanese Value Engineering.
  • The Optics R&D Center opens in Utsunomiya, Japan.
2000
  • Canon receives the prestigious Copier of the Future IEA-DSM Award of Excellence.
  • The PowerShot S100 DIGITAL ELPH (DIGITAL IXUS in other regions), a digital compact camera, is introduced.
    PowerShot S100 DIGITAL ELPH / DIGITAL IXUS

    PowerShot S100
    DIGITAL ELPH /
    DIGITAL IXUS

  • The iR series new-generation network MFD is introduced, providing document collation and distribution functions.
  • The EOS D30 digital SLR camera is introduced, featuring a CMOS sensor.
2001
  • Phase II of the Excellent Global Corporation Plan is initiated.
  • Canon forms the Management Strategy Committee.
  • Canon Europe Ltd. is established in London to cooperate with Canon Europa N.V. in the Netherlands to reinforce regional operations.
  • Canon Vietnam Co., Ltd. is established in Hanoi as a production site for inkjet printers.
  • Three companies in the Canon Group establish a copying machine production site in Suzhou, PRC.
  • Canon Zhongshan Business Machines Co., Ltd., the Group's third laser printer production site in the PRC, is established.
2001
  • Canon develops the Multi-Layered Diffractive Optical Element technology.
  • Canon introduces the first "camera direct" products, which allow digital pictures to be printed using an inkjet printer directly from a camera.
  • The imageRUNNER 3300 (iR3300 in other regions), featuring environmentally conscious technologies, is introduced.
    imageRUNNER iR3300

    imageRUNNER iR3300

2002
  • Fujio Mitarai, Canon Inc. president and CEO, is one of the first executives to receive a Business Reformer Commendation from the Japanese government.
  • Canon Inc.'s new headquarters building opens in Shimomaruko, Tokyo.
  • Ueno Canon Materials, Inc. is established.
2002
  • The EOS-1Ds pro-model digital SLR camera, featuring Canon’s 11.1-megapixel full-frame 35 mm CMOS sensor, is introduced.
  • The LBP-2810/2710 color laser printer, featuring the newly developed Four-Color Vertical In-Line Engine, is introduced.
  • The Color imageRUNNER C3200 (iR C3200 in other regions), a color network MFD with a newly developed Color iR Controller, is introduced.
2003
  • Canon Aptex Inc. and Copyer Co., Ltd. merge to form Canon Finetech Inc.
  • Fukushima Canon Inc. is established as a base for high value-added mass production for the inkjet printer business.
  • Canon (China) Co., Ltd. establishes 15 branch offices.
  • Canon Technical Information Services Inc. is established.
  • Implementation of an eco-friendly product transport modal shift begins.
2003
  • The DIGISUPER 100 xs broadcasting lens, featuring the world's highest zoom lens range is introduced.
    DIGISUPER 100 xs

    DIGISUPER 100 xs

  • The i70 (Bubble Jet i70 in other regions), an ultra-compact inkjet notebook printer, is introduced.
  • The W8200, a large format printer using pigmented ink, is introduced.
  • Canon begins shipping the 80-nanometer resolution ArF scanning stepper FPA-6000AS4.
  • The EOS DIGITAL REBEL (EOS 300D DIGITAL in other regions), a high-resolution compact digital SLR AF camera, is introduced.
    EOS DIGITAL REBEL / EOS 300D DIGITAL

    EOS DIGITAL REBEL /
    EOS 300D DIGITAL

  • The PowerShot S400 DIGITAL ELPH (DIGITAL IXUS 400 in other regions), which incorporates the DIGIC imaging processor, is introduced.
  • The Color imageRUNNER C6800 (iR C6800 in other regions), a new color network MFD, which implements RoHS Directive in advance, is introduced.
2004
  • Canon changes the stock trading unit from 1,000 shares to 100 shares.
  • Canon holds its first briefing for individual investors.
  • The Yako Development Center is completed for the concentration of R&D sections of inkjet printers.
  • Canon Precision Inc. merges with Hirosaki Seiki, Inc.
  • Canon creates Canon Ecology Industry Inc. and Canon Semiconductor Equipment Inc. from Canon N.T.C., Inc.
  • Canon Ru LLC is established in Moscow, Russia.
  • Igari Mold Co., Ltd. becomes a wholly owned subsidiary through a share exchange.
  • Inkjet printer shipments reach 100 million units.
2004
  • 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.
  • The PIXMA iP8500 inkjet printer featuring an all new design and the ChromaLife100 system is introduced.
    PIXMA iP8500

    PIXMA iP8500

  • The REALiS SX50 (XEED SX50 in other regions), a multi-media projector incorporating the newly developed AISYS optical system, is introduced.
2005
  • Canon holds Canon EXPO 2005, a showcase for Canon’s new products and future technologies, in New York, Paris, and Tokyo.
  • The Compliance Card is distributed to 110,000 Canon Group employees.
  • Construction of the leading-edge technology building at the Canon headquarters in Shimomaruko, is completed.
  • Canon concludes a cooperative research agreement with Tokyo Institute of Technology.
  • Canon and Microsoft Corporation of the U.S. agree to collaborate in the field of image processing technology.
  • The Canon Group obtains combined ISO14001 certification.
  • ANELVA Corporation and NEC Machinery Corporation are made consolidated subsidiaries.
2005
  • Canon receives the Imperial Award for Innovations for the invention of a large-screen sensor for real-time X-ray imaging systems.
  • The XL H1 high-definition video camcorder is introduced.