Andres:

“Our history begins in 1975 when two Canon NP5000 copiers were bought by the Cybernetics Institute of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. I was working as an electronics engineer for the Institute, designing scientific research equipment. As an additional task, I took on the responsibility for these new and rare copying devices.

In those days the copy machines were under the close scrutiny of the Soviet security organisation KGB and were shrouded in secrecy. It was also very difficult to obtain maintenance literature, spare parts and other necessities. Using my contacts in the Marubeni Corporation office in Moscow, I managed to keep the Canon NP5000 devices in full working order for more than eleven years. (One of these NP5000s is still exhibited in our head office and remains in full working order!).

From 1989, I extended my activities beyond my work for the Institute and started to service Canon copiers across Estonia. Through a personal friend in Finland, I managed to establish a relationship with the Canon office in Finland — Canon OY. The people in Canon OY were very welcoming and offered their support to my desire to establish the Canon brand in the emerging Estonian market. Then president of Canon OY, Mr Seppo Mervola, invited me to Helsinki and hosted me in Canon OY for several months at the end of 1989. This provided me the access to the Canon OY technical and knowledge resource and enabled me to acquire valuable new experience. We have become good friends with Mr Mervola and share many fond memories from those times and from the years that have followed.