Thousand faces of Canon | Business

Canon’s corporate philosophy can be summed up in one word: kyosei. It sums up his approach in Japanese: all the people who are part of it, regardless of their race, culture, customs or language, work together “for the common good.” The Japanese group’s energetic corporate credo is much broader and more philosophical and revolves around what Fujio Mitarai, its CEO, mentioned in the latest results presentation: “Change is progress.”

Canon had to change the skin several times. Established as an optical instruments laboratory in 1933, its first 35 mm camera (named Kwanon) was introduced three years later. Over time, these will range from X-ray machines to television cameras, film cameras, calculators, photocopiers, glasses, voice recorders, and even personal computers. Eight decades later, the company has focused, simply put, on digital document management and chip manufacturing, but has not lost sight of its lucrative camera and printer businesses. Its global turnover is around 28.5 billion euros, it employs 180,000 people and earns 1.7 billion, according to its latest report for 2023. A quarter of all this business comes from Europe, and a small part – the company does not disclose details. , but the accounts for 2022 show 151 million euros – from Spain and Portugal.

Javier Tabernero, president and CEO of Canon in the Peninsula, recalls that today, “Canon is the product of many patents, innovations, as well as company acquisitions.” Between 2018 and 2022, it was one of the top five companies by number of patents in the US, behind only firms such as Samsung, IBM, Tsmc or Huawei. Spurred by e-commerce and the increasingly complex communications needs of photography and video around the world, the company is growing, especially in selling equipment to businesses. The company is also a leader in the home printing segment. But what’s really driving their profits is “digital document and process management,” explains Tabernero.

Until 2022, their sales in Spain were accounted for by the commission they received from their European parent company, registered in the Netherlands, meaning they did not record either the total sales volume or the risks or liabilities associated with them. From 2023, the system has changed so that accounts will now reflect what Canon distributes in Spain and Portugal through stores, professional channels, distributors and wholesalers. “Global sales growth was 3.7%. In Spain we were above that,” explains Tabernero, without providing further data for the year. “Digital transformation offers us an important role. In some of these areas we grew over 30%. In the traditional print world, the office market is shrinking and we’re growing.” Traditional forms of offset printing (aluminum plates on steel presses) are being replaced by new digital technologies that enable greater savings.

At the center of this transformation is the mother of all battles: the production of chips, without which artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things or robotics would not be possible. Canon wants to break ASML’s dominance to meet demand for semiconductor manufacturing systems at lower prices. This year, the company has promised to bring its advanced nanoimprint lithography technology to market with a view to commercializing it soon. If successful, this could reduce costs and save energy in the mass production of ultra-thin semiconductors (technically, they would be two nanometers in size, smaller than those available now). The Japanese believe they have a competitive advantage since they developed their first semiconductor lithography equipment in 1970 and are now used to produce basic semiconductors such as logic and memory chips, 5G devices or power devices for cars. “Almost 10% of our global sales come from semiconductor manufacturing machines. We have this competitive advantage: we are able to create more efficient chips, smaller and cheaper machines to be able to produce those chips, and with that we are trying to offset the inflationary trend in general,” says Tabernero. They also have an extensive scope of manufacturing LCD and OLED screens for TVs, smartphones and tablets.

Various applications

The Spanish executive talks about how the tools they already have and those in development give them important technology leadership with many applications. “From depicting reality using medical equipment (CT, MRI, ultrasound) to optics in photography and video. All this information processing is based on microprocessors, which are key.” Documents, photos, videos or metadata that are generated every minute require a storage system, a history of changes, and guarantees of confidentiality and security. The Japanese company devotes 8% of its turnover to research and development, with nine centers in Europe and software companies within the group such as Milestone in Denmark, NT-ware in Germany or Briefcam in Israel. “The digital governance environment is one area where we are demonstrating strong leadership, both organically with hiring and buying companies. The other part is that all this digital information has to be translated into physical reality, and that’s part of print.” Regarding the dangers of generative artificial intelligence, he cites the Japanese management model as an example. “Companies have codes of conduct, AI governance committees, and we strive to make them reliable and explainable. We are committed to ensuring that responsible people are behind the use of these technologies and that they are used for the common good.”

Darwin said that those species that adapt best survive. “I add to this that these are the companies “that adapt the fastest.” This is what we bring to Canon,” concludes Tabernero.

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