Nikon Snapshot
Nikon's focus extends far wider than most consumers would believe. Though well-known for its cameras, lenses, and other consumer imaging products, Nikon vies with national rival Canon and Netherlands-based ASML Holding to be the world's top producer of photolithography steppers, which is the crucial equipment used to etch circuitry onto semiconductor wafers and LCD panels (the Precision Equipment division). The company's Instruments unit makes surveying instruments, microscopes, and measuring instruments. Other products include ophthalmic lenses, optical equipment, and thin film coatings. Founded in 1917, Nikon is part of the huge Mitsubishi "keiretsu", a group of businesses linked by cross-ownership.