Canon To Build $162 Million Camera Factory In Nagasaki

Tokyo, Japan (AHN) - Japanese camera maker Canon Inc. announced Monday that it plans to build a plant worth $162 million in Nagasaki. The new factory will have a production capacity of four million digital cameras annually.

Canon will begin construction of the plant in January 2009 and is targeted for completion in November with operational start up in December 2009. The factory will manufacture both digital single lens reflex and compact cameras.

Canon disclosed that it is raising camera production by 20 percent to 29.4 million units this year especially models that have interchangeable lenses, which can automatically zoom in on the subject's face, according to Bloomberg.

Canon holds the biggest share in the global digital market at 20 percent followed by competitors Sony, Samsung and Olympus.

In January, the Camera & Imaging Products Association of Tokyo predicted a global sales increase by 12 percent to about 112 million cameras for 2008.