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Canon to build ink-jet printer plant in Vietnam
TOKYO,
Feb 06 – Japanese office equipment giant Canon Inc. said on Saturday it
would spend about 13 billion yen ($109.4 million) to build another
ink-jet factory in Vietnam, aiming to boost output by about 50 percent
by 2010.
Canon, the world’s third-largest ink-jet printer company
after U.S.-based Hewlett-Packard Co. and Japanese rival Seiko Epson
Corp. , said it would start construction on the plant in May and aim to
start operations in February next year.
Canon already has one
ink-jet factory in Vietnam and has said it was leaning towards building
another plant there to take advantage of relatively low labour costs
and easy access to raw materials. It makes more expensive ink-jet
printers in Thailand.
Canon said the factory would focus on
producing low-priced ink-jet printers for export to other Asian
countries, North America and Europe. It will expand the facility in
2008 and expects to employ 7,000 workers by 2010.
A Canon spokesman
said the factory would handle the entire manufacturing process through
assembly and eventually have the capacity to make 1.4 million units per
month, although actual output will vary by month according to demand.
The
plant will allow Canon to raise its overall annual output to some 30
million units by 2010, up from a planned 20 million units this year,
the spokesman said.
The aggressive expansion reflects a solid demand
outlook for the global ink-jet printer market, which is growing
steadily as the spread of digital cameras has more consumers wanting to
print photos at home.
The move also suggests Canon is hoping to
unseat Seiko Epson to take the number-two spot. According to the Nihon
Keizai Shimbun, Canon’s global market share is 18 percent. That
compares with Seiko Epson at around 20 percent and HP at about 40
percent.
Canon also makes laser printers in Vietnam.
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