The UK and Ireland arm of Japanese imaging company Canon, selling cameras, printers and business imaging products, with its UK headquarters at Uxbridge, west London, and offices across the UK.
Canon is best known for cameras, lenses and printers, and Canon UK sells and supports them in the UK and Ireland. Its range runs from consumer cameras to broadcast equipment, photocopiers and office printers, large-format and production print, ink and toner, network video and 3D printing. Its first flagship product in the UK in 1976 was the AE-1, described as the world's first 35mm SLR with a built-in computer chip. Canon says it continues to invest in research and has cited a 250-megapixel CMOS sensor, which is the light-capturing chip inside a camera.
Canon began in Japan in 1937 as Precision Optical Industry Co. Ltd and says it has operated for more than 80 years. Its philosophy is "kyosei", a Japanese idea of living and working together for the common good. Its vision is to enrich lives and businesses, and it calls itself "Visionary, Innovative and Bold". Its values are respect, support and collaboration. In 1990 it started what it calls the world's first toner cartridge recycling programme. These are all the company's own statements from its careers pages.
Canon Business Machines was established in the UK on 21 June 1976, selling calculators, copiers and micrographic equipment, and in 1982 it joined with a separate camera sales business to become Canon UK. It first operated from a house in Croydon. Its head office was in Reigate, Surrey, but in 2019 it announced that Canon UK and Ireland would join the European, Middle East and African headquarters in Uxbridge, west London. Canon Europe's registered address is 4 Roundwood Avenue, Stockley Park, Uxbridge. The 40th anniversary article listed offices in London, Birmingham, Livingston in Scotland and Belfast, though that list is from 2016.
Canon UK had about 2,000 employees at its 40th anniversary in 2016. A long-serving colleague who joined in 1982 told that article that Canon treats staff as valued team members, and the company gave everyone an extra day off for their birthday that year. The group says it has more than 182,000 employees worldwide and provides over 30,000 days of training each year. Canon UK's managing director said in 2019 that the UK business would "retain its own identity" within Europe. These are the company's statements, and the 2019 report said some finance, operations and customer service work would move to an outsourced model.
Because Canon sells to both households and businesses, its UK jobs span many functions: sales and account management, marketing, product specialists, service and support, print and imaging consultants, finance and customer service. Its business customers include print and production companies, broadcasters and photographers. If you like photography, technology or working with business clients, it is a recognisable name where you can learn how a hardware product reaches a customer.
Website: www.canon.co.uk
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