According to JPEA International PEN News Weekly, Hoya Corp. has decided to transfer Pentax interchangeable lens and medium-format camera production from its Mashiko plant in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo, to Vietnam and Philippines facilities, respectively, by the end of March 2009. Thus, Hoya will end all domestic output of lenses and cameras. The company has already shifted DSLR production to the Philippines factory, most lens production to Vietnam, and consigned compact digital camera production to Taiwanese manufacturers.

  At Mashiko plant, Hoya has produced optical products including interchangeable lenses and medium- and large-format cameras, and medical equipment, whose production will be continued there. Some 250 employees are working on optical equipment production and the company will offer early retirement programs and application will be accepted from December this year. This move is to finalize the Hoya group's production restructuring of the optical equipment division since it acquired Pentax in March.

HP Co., Palo Alto, Calif., appointed Lynn Pendergrass senior vice president for the Americas region of its Imaging and Printing Group (IPG), which includes the United States, Canada, Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Pendergrass will have responsibility for maximizing the group's profit and revenue growth in the Americas region, extending its market leadership position, driving HP's company-wide consumer go-to-market activities, and ensuring a superior customer experience. She will oversee all IPG sales as well as its operational supply chain, marketing, consumer support, and category management activities.

Japanese electronics maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. changed its name to Panasonic Corp., as it announced last month. The company's ticker on the New York Stock Exchange has been changed to "PC" from "MC," effective immediately.

  In September, the company said it will stop using its Japanese brand name, "National," in favor of "Panasonic" and start a marketing campaign called "Hello Panasonic" in an effort to boost market share. The company expects to complete the changeover by the end of March 2010.