TECHNOLOGY: Canon considers more R&D facilities for U.S.

Some more news from Canon. Only two days after he was on Long Island to help break ground for the giant imaging company's new North American headquarters in Melville, chairman Fujio Mitarai told Nikkei Business Daily in Tokyo that Canon is planning more research and development activities in the United States.

Is Canon going all-U.S.?

Months ago, Canon U.S.A. chief executive Joe Adachi told Newsday he would love to have Canon locate its worldwide headquarters on Long Island. That may just be an Adachi dream.

But Mitarai, Adachi's boss, said more U.S. R&D could be a reality. U.S. manufacturing, Mitarai said in the interview, is poised for a comeback, and Canon wants to be there when it does.

"We will continue with research and development in Japan," Mitarai said. "But we want to drive our business diversification by developing new technologies in the U.S., which attracts brains from all over the world." Mitarai added that the United States "will revive its manufacturing industry with the help of the Obama administration's policy of boosting exports."

Canon, now in Lake Success, on Monday broke ground on what is to be a 668,296-square-foot building in Melville. Long Island business executives are anxiously awaiting word whether some of this increased R&D activity will be here.