IPG Reports Back from Japan

In-plant Graphics Editor Bob Neubauer is in the midst of a media tour of Canon's Tokyo headquarters facility and MFD manufacturing operation in Shanghai, China. On Tuesday, he and a small group of U.S. editors and analysts met with Canon Chairman and CEO Fujio Mitarai to learn more about Canon's strategy.

Mitarai detailed Canon’s “excellent global corporation plan,” now in phase four, and the six key strategies Canon is implementing in order to achieve the “overwhelming number one position in all core businesses.” Despite setbacks like the 2011 earthquake in Japan and the October floods in Thailand, both of which impacted Canon’s production operations, he said Canon anticipates a five to seven percent sales increase per year from 2012 to 2015.

Canon had net 2011 sales of 3,557 billion yen (roughly $44.84 billion), 27 percent of which came from the Americas. Of that, Canon’s office segment (including copiers, laser printers and digital printers) brought in 53 percent. The company’s ratio of research and development to net sales, executives noted, was 8.7 percent in 2011, higher than its competition.

In describing the company’s large-format printing business—bolstered by the acquisition of Océ—executives acknowledged that Epson and HP may have better brand recognition than Canon (which has 21 percent of market share), however Canon has a much wider product lineup. Its equipment covers not only the graphic arts (proofing, signs and displays) but also the CAD market, both color and black-and-white. Examples were given comparing Canon large-format devices with comparable-sized HP and Epson printers. Canon’s models had more compact footprints, were faster and produced sharper images.

When asked about further integration of Océ into Canon, executives noted that the Océ brand still has high customer loyalty, so it still may take some time to fully unify the two brands, though full integration is the long-term goal. (The integration of Océ technology into Canon products is already fully underway.)

IPG and other U.S. guests toured the Canon showroom for a look at Canon products over the years and got a glimpse of some newer innovations, like mixed-reality technology. They were also given a peek at some very interesting new products, still a year away from release (and thus under non disclosure agreements), which showed impressive advancements in color accuracy.

From Tokyo the group flew to Shanghai, China, where today they are touring Canon's largest MFD manufacturing facility, in Suzhou. Read the full story of IPG's Canon visit in the July issue of In-plant Graphics.