Canon Virginia to expand manufacturing in Newport News

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has announced that Canon Virginia, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of consumer and office products, will expand its manufacturing facility in the City of Newport News, where the company has been manufacturing image-related products for 40 years.

The expansion will support Canon’s new initiative to scale a unique method of isolating natural silk protein to create a solution with applications for multiple industries. Canon Virginia will retrain 30 employees to staff the new line, which is one of the company’s first ventures outside its longstanding core business of image-related products, a news release from the Governor’s office said.

“We thank Canon Virginia, Inc. for its longstanding commitment to Virginia,” said Gov. Youngkin. “The company’s efforts to diversify its product line are indicative of the Virginia innovation ecosystem. We are proud that the Commonwealth continues to attract companies like Canon with our strong business climate, elite infrastructure, and top-notch workforce.”

“This announcement brings great opportunity for Canon Virginia to continue our commitment to innovation, growth and development in Virginia,” said Shingo Shigeta, President & CEO of Canon Virginia, Inc.  “With this expansion, we will make silk protein a viable commercially scaled technology with broad application use in various segments. Virginia’s conducive business environment and the healthy business ecosystem has helped us achieve this goal – this is only possible through unwavering support from the Commonwealth of Virginia, Governor Youngkin, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the City of Newport News, and the Hampton Roads Alliance.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the City of Newport News to secure the project for Virginia and will support Canon Virginia’s retraining efforts through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program. The Governor also approved a performance-based grant of $350,000 from the Virginia Investment Performance Grant, an incentive that encourages continued capital investment by existing Virginia companies.