The company says it plans to invest heavily in new applications for its core digital technology in areas such as medical technology, commercial printing and high-grade TV screens.
Canon New Zealand managing director, Tony Wills said the company’s decision to invest in other areas is a very positive one.
“While Canon remains a global leader in digital cameras and copiers there is very aggressive competition in this market which is putting pressure on margins. So we need to look at other opportunities and leverage the technology and expertise we have within the company as well as extending our existing product categories to new levels.
“What I saw in terms of new product development at the Expo was mind blowing, even for a 21 year Canon veteran like myself.”
Canon previewed new products including high-volume commercial printers, colour printing technology and software partnerships with Microsoft and Adobe.
The company plans to launch new high-volume digital colour and black and white production printers next year. This will add significant weight to Canon’s current Print and Graphics suite of Products. The company says that the new Colour X and Y production engines are certain to find many new friends within the commercial print arena as they take digital printing to the next generation.
Canon has devoted a large part of its R&D budget to commercial printing so as to rival Xerox and Eastman Kodak in this area.
Canon plans to ramp up its R&D budget from $US 2.5bn last year to $US 4.5bn annually. This will set the stage for the company to explore biotechnology, nanotechnology and the life sciences between 2010 and 2020.
“The future looks very exciting for Canon as we diversify into new areas,” concluded Wills.
