Canon’s R&D facility, CiSRA, today celebrates 20 years of supporting Australian jobs and innovation

Sydney, 8 June 2010: Canon  Australia's research and development (R&D) facility, Canon Information  Systems Research Australia Pty Ltd (CiSRA), today celebrated 20 years  of supporting Australian jobs and innovation. Established in 1990, CiSRA  directly supports close to 300 jobs and contributes AUD$50 million export  dollars annually.

Member for Bennelong, Maxine  McKew, joined Chairman of CiSRA and Managing Director of Canon Australia, Mr  Kenji Kobayashi, in marking the milestone during a visit to the high-tech North  Ryde facility in Sydney this morning.

Mr Kobayashi said that  together with Canon's R&D centres in Japan, America, Europe and Asia, CiSRA  plays a pivotal role in the company's future product development.

"Globally, Canon's  investment in research & development has been growing steadily and is  approaching 10 percent of its annual revenue, with CiSRA being one of its five  overseas R&D centres in the world. While costs associated with running an  R&D facility in Australia are perhaps higher than they would be in other  countries in the region, the extremely talented engineers this country produces  makes the investment worthwhile. We appreciate the R&D tax incentives from  the Australian Government as they help us compete with these low cost centres  in the region and they support R&D employment in Australia," said Mr  Kobayashi.

Ms McKew, at this morning's  tour of the facility, said that the Rudd Government was working hard to support  research and innovation in Australia.

"The Rudd Government has  supported CiSRA with tax incentives to help encourage and promote its R&D  activities. I am proud this locally-based facility is achieving important  breakthroughs in innovation while supporting local jobs," said Ms McKew.

CiSRA's Managing Director,  Mr Hayao Ozu, said that while it is satisfying to celebrate CiSRA's successes  over the 20 years, the company was looking to the future and what it holds for  innovative technologies and solutions.

"The multi-talented staff we  have, who are scientists, engineers and usability specialists, along with the  different perspectives they bring from their various cultural backgrounds, have  contributed greatly to our success," said  Mr Ozu.

"In turning towards the next  20 years, CiSRA must face new challenges. One of those is to propose new  research areas and to develop new areas of specialised expertise. To do that,  one important element will be closer collaboration with Australian universities  and government research organisations. We must also be more proactive and take  the lead to propose and trial new solutions locally, prior to world release.  For that, establishing a more strategic collaboration scheme with Canon  Australia will be an essential factor.

"Another challenge for us is  to show leadership in the creation of a global software development system  which can achieve a higher quality implementation with lower cost. In order to  do so, we must efficiently transfer the technologies we develop to other parts  of Canon. And finally, as an organisation, while strengthening our teamwork,  each of us must cooperate proactively to strengthen our management quality,"  concluded Mr Ozu.

Key milestones for CiSRA  include:
 

• CiSRA  directly supports close to 300 jobs in Australia and seeks to nurture and  develop high-quality Australian researchers and innovators.
   
• CiSRA  contributes AUD$50 million export dollars annually.
   
• During  its 20 years CiSRA has filed more than 1300 patent applications in Australia on  behalf of Canon Inc.
   
• Canon  Inc globally commits approximately 10 per cent of its revenue to R&D.
  
  
  Key technology  accomplishments for CiSRA:
   
• ZoomBrowser  EX Software: This is a CiSRA  developed software application that allows image download and management for  the rapidly expanding digital camera market. ZoomBrowser features a  "zooming" user interface to provide quick and easy image browsing and  a novel way to organise and annotate collections of photos. ZoomBrowser EX is  distributed with cameras in Canon's digital still range.
   
• PhotoRecord Software: This software  application makes it easy for home users to create high quality photo albums.  PhotoRecord provides automatic album layout through an intuitive, innovative  and highly interactive user interface. To date over 100 million copies have  been distributed worldwide through "bundling" with Canon digital cameras,  photo-grade Bubble Jet printers and high-end scanners.
   
• UFR Technology: CiSRA's unique Ultra Fast Rendering (UFR) technology allows low cost,  high performance, high resolution colour and monochrome page processing in a  wide variety of printing products. The unique UFR is utilised right across  Canon's print product range, from low cost consumer models which use computer  drivers, through networked office multifunction imageRUNNERs, right up to  professional imagePRESS models.
   
• PosterArtist Software: This is a CiSRA developed software application for the creation of professional  quality large format posters. PosterArtist offers an intuitive but powerful  interface and a library of ready to use poster templates to quickly create  quality output. PosterArtist is ideal for small business and in-house print  shops and is available around the world bundled with Canon's large format printers.
   
• CANVAS Unveiled: In 2003, CiSRA's CANVAS (video  monitoring security application) was publicly demonstrated for the first time  at the ASIS International exhibition (one of thelargest security exhibitions  in the world).
  
  
  
  About  Canon
  
  

  Canon Australia is a leading provider of advanced, simple-to-use imaging solutions for businesses and consumers. Canon’s Australian R&D company, CiSRA, develops and exports digital imaging technologies for use in Canon products worldwide. Canon has ranked among the top-four US patent recipients for the past 18 years, and had global revenues of around $US35 billion in 2009. Canon Australia also operates Canon Finance Australia, which offers one-stop shopping for customers wanting leasing or finance services. For more information, visit canon.com.au

  
  
  
  Media  Contacts:
  
    Hill  & Knowlton Media Bureau
  
    T: 61 2 9286 1249
  
    E: canon@hillandknowlton.com.au