Chinon Industries ( チ ノ ン 株式会社 ) is a Japanese company.
| Chinon industries | |
|---|---|
| Type of | kabusiki |
| Base | 1948 |
| Abolished | |
| Location |  Nagano |
| Website | chinon.co.jp |
Company History
The company was founded in 1948 in a village in the province of Nagano . The company was called Seisakusho. The company manufactured mirrors, cases, and other components for Olympus , Ricoh, and Mamiya cameras . In 1953, the company was transformed into a joint stock company .
In 1954, the company opened an office in Tokyo . In 1956, Seisakusho began production of an 8mm movie camera. In 1962, the company changed its name to “Optical Industry Ltd”, the company's shares began to be traded on the OTC market. In the same year, the company began selling movie cameras called Zoom Chinon Industries.
In 1972, the company began production of a 35 mm Chinon Industries M-1 single-lens camera with an M42 screw mount . The company continues to supply components for Mamiya.
In 1973, the company changed its name to Corporation Chinon Industries. The company's shares were listed on the second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange . The company has become one of the largest manufacturers of 8 mm movie cameras.
In 1977, the company began production of film projectors for 8 mm film. In the 1980s, movie camera sales declined significantly due to the widespread adoption of camcorders . The company began the production of office equipment: printers , faxes , etc. In 1982, the production of printers began, in 1983 - devices for reading computer diskettes. In 1984, the company ceased production of film projectors, and a subsidiary, Chinon America, was opened in the United States.
In 1985, the company began manufacturing 35mm cameras for Kodak . In 1986, a factory was built in Nagano Prefecture. In 1988, the company was one of the first in the world to manufacture autofocus cameras. Chinon produced only camera housings ; lenses were purchased from other manufacturers.
In 1989, a second plant was opened in Nagano Prefecture. In 1992, the company began moving production to Taiwan , and movie cameras were discontinued.
In 1993, the company began producing digital cameras . In 1994, the production of computer drives was discontinued, and an office in Tokyo was closed. In 1996, the company's losses reached 86 billion yen, the company's shares are deprived of listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In 1997, a controlling stake in Chinon was sold to Kodak. In 2004, the company was completely absorbed by Kodak Japan. Based on Chinon, Kodak Digital Product Center, Japan Ltd. In 2006, the Kodak Digital Product Center was sold to Flextronics International Ltd ( Singapore ).