By Keri Algar
SYDNEY, NSW: Canon Australia has said that at this stage the company is focussed on ascertaining the level of impact of the natural disasters on its people and operations.
“We are fortunate and grateful that there have been very few injuries to our employees reported to date," said a Canon Australia spokesperson.
"Moreover, the operations of our Tokyo headquarters remain unaffected and operate as usual. Given that our Japanese manufacturing operations and those of related companies are located in various parts of the country, circumstances differ widely and it will take some time to understand the level of impact on our business. We are still assessing what impact this may have on supply.
In an effort to resume production as soon as possible Canon is considering relocating its Japanese facilities due to the earthquake that struck on 11 March.
On Monday Canon Inc and Canon Group companies advised that production operations could be suspended for one month or longer, reporting that the level of damage differed from site to site in northern Honshu, the most affected area by the natural disasters.
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Facilities located in western Honshu were due to resume operation this week.
Canon said it aimed to recommence production by considering using alternative sites that were not damaged.
Production could be hampered by Canon and other companies’ attempt to conserve energy as the nation struggles with the atomic disaster at Fukushima Daiichi.