Sony has reportedly proposed acquiring Tamron, putting Canon in a position to reconsider its in-house sensor production and the structure of its business. The possibility of an outsourced production model using Tower Semiconductor’s Japanese facilities is also being discussed.
Tower Semiconductor is an Israel-based semiconductor foundry that is said to have 200mm and 300mm wafer manufacturing capacity in Japan, as well as the ability to undertake contract manufacturing of CMOS image sensors. For the Japanese market, it uses a former Panasonic-affiliated manufacturing base and is reportedly equipped to produce sensors for cameras.
The company is said to have production technology for large, high-resolution sensors for DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, along with BSI, stacked-sensor technology, PDAF and large-sensor production using stitching. It is also said to maintain 300mm wafer production capacity in Japan. Against this backdrop, the article presents the possibility of a model in which Canon does not handle everything in-house but entrusts part of the work to an external company.
The article reports that, if Sony’s proposed acquisition of Tamron goes ahead, the competitiveness of its α system, including its lenses, could improve and potentially affect Canon’s advantage in scale. It therefore puts forward the hypothesis that Canon could review the relationship between its in-house development and factory production, retaining design in-house while outsourcing manufacturing to Tower.
Ultimately, a model in which “Canon designs and Tower manufactures in Japan” could potentially be established. However, the article does not reach a conclusion on the feasibility of such an arrangement, treating it strictly as a matter still under discussion.