FUJINON CORPORATION NEWS OF INTEREST TO OUR COMMUNITY

There is nothing to relate pertaining to notable product introductions or changed for the amateur astronomy and birding commuities. But do not think that Fujinon Corp. has been idle; consider some of their other notable landmarks in the history of the company:

• Aug. 1948 Their first still camera, FUJICA-6, was introduced in the market.
• Mar. 1957 Streamlined our organization as a comprehensive optics manufacturer upon taking over a lens division of the Odawara Factory of FUJI PHOTO FILM CO., LTD.
• Sep. 1962 Domestic production of an electronic copier [XEROX 914] was started.
• Mar. 1965 Established FUJINON SANO CORPORATION to expand the machining division.
• Apr. 1968 Established FUJINON MITO CORPORATION to expand the camera division.
• Apr. 1971 Entered into medical business by commercializing FUJINON endoscope.
• Jan. 1974 Established FUJINON INC. in New York, USA, as a subsidiary company.
• Mar. 1980 Established FUJINON (EUROPE) GmbH in Dusseldorf, Germany, as a subsidiary company.
• Oct. 1983 FUJINON OKAYA CORPORATION became a 100% owned subsidiary company.
• Jan. 1985 Commenced the mass production of optical plastic lenses for the CD players.
• May 1985 Announced video endoscope at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) Show in USA.
• May 1989 Announced new video endoscope [Super Image] at Gastroenterological Endoscopy Show in Japan.
• Mar. 1991 Established FUJINON SINGAPORE PTE. LTD. as a subsidiary company in Singapore.
• Dec. 1992 Established FUJINON AUUSTRALIA PTY. LTD. as a subsidiary company in Australia.
• Jul. 1993 Received ISO9002 certification.
• Mar. 1994 The 50th anniversary of the establishment of FUJINON CORPORATION.
• Sep. 1994 Announced 70X zoom television lens for the broadcasting at IBC Show in Holland.
• Nov. 1994 Received ISO9001 certification.
• Established FUJINON TIANJIN OPTICAL CO., LTD. as a subsidiary company in China.
• Sep. 1995 Established FUJINON HONG KONG LTD. as a subsidiary company.
• Oct. 1996 Received the Deeming Prize for accomplishment of the Total Quality Control activities.
• Oct. 1996 Engineering Emmy Award for broadcasting television lenses was received.
• Jan. 1998 Received ISO14001 certification.
• May 1999 Awarded a prize by Motion Picture and Television Engineering Society of Japan for the development of TV lens for super-sensitive, high-definition color TV cameras.
• Sep. 2000 Released DIGI POWER 87, the world's highest zoom magnification TV lens of 87 times.
• Jan. 2001 Established SHANGHAI FUJINON MEDICAL EQUIPMENT CO., LTD. as a subsidiary company in China.
• Sep. 2001 Established FUJINON SHENZHEN OPTOELECTRONICS CO., LTD. as a subsidiary company in China.
• Mar. 2002 Established FUJINON TOSHIBA ES SYSTEM CO., LTD. as a subsidiary company.
• Apr. 2003 Introduced the 101 times zoom lens for broadcasting cameras in NAB.
• Oct. 2003 Released the double-balloon video endoscopy system for the small intestine.
• Apr. 2004 Introduced the zoom lens with the autofocus system "Precision Focus" for broadcasting cameras in NAB.
• Sep. 2004 Released the fully digital endoscope "Sapientia."
• Oct. 2004 The company name was changed from FUJI PHOTO OPTICAL CO., LTD. to FUJINON CORPORATION.
• Apr. 2005 The business of Photofinishing Equipment Department was transferred to FUJIFILM TECHNO PRODUCTS CO,.LTD.