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Tamron Japan has published a statement [machine-translated] on its website noting that two of its three main factories will remain closed through the end of 2020 due to the ‘decrease in global demand due to the worldwide spread of the [novel] coronavirus.’\
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This closure extension affects Tamron’s Hirosaki and Namioka factories, which were originally set to open back up on October 1. These facilities, located in Japan’s Aomori prefecture, are two of Tamron’s ‘mother plants.’ Each of these three plants play a role in the lens development process: the Hirosaki plant handles metal processing, assembly and repairs; the Namioka plant processes the lens elements; and the Owani plant molds the plastic components.1
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Tamron says ‘the global market has not yet recovered, and in consideration of the uncertainty of the market environment in the future, we will continue to extend the partial closure of the domestic Aomori factory until the end of the year.’ Tamron notes business will continue during these closures, but it could ‘cause inconvenience and inconvenience to our business partners.’
If you’re interested in finding out more about the production process, Tamron Japan has an interesting online factory tour that walks through the steps it takes to manufacture a lens.
1 Tamron Japan
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)