Now that digital images are everywhere, lens performance requirements have become dramatically higher and more stringent. Photos can be displayed on computer screens and examined at the pixel level, so lens aberrations show up clearly, and differences in lens performance are obvious at a glance. This is precisely why we are focusing on genuinely high picture-quality, doing our utmost to eliminate lens aberrations at the manufacturing stage, and determinedly striving to ensure that optical data reaches the image sensor with no interference on the way.

There's a reason why Sigma continues to insist on the very highest quality in its product manufacturing: our love of photography is second to none. We deeply appreciate the photographer's desire to record and express—the passion of the photographer. We understand the need to capture the moment that gives rise to a unique work of art. Our endless passion for photography spurs us on to the kind of technical innovation that raises picture quality and performance, and it keeps us looking for new ways to facilitate artistic expression.

At Sigma, problems to be solved and improvements to be made in each manufacturing process are shared and discussed in our on-site decision-making system. This well-established and self-sustaining communication framework enables feedback to be passed up and down the production chain. Being a relatively small company, Sigma applies strengths of flexibility and speed in manufacturing products of high quality and high added value. Amassing and sharing expertise in this way on a daily basis also enables us to maintain a positive feedback loop that promotes innovative product design, production efficiency, and productivity.

Sigma's ability to coordinate things smoothly on the spot is largely thanks to our unique, vertically integrated production system. Apart from a handful of processes, everything is done in house. This includes grinding lenses, molding plastic parts, painting, mounting substrates, assembly, manufacturing screws and other parts, and machining molds. All our interchangeable lenses, cameras and strobes are also produced at our Aizu factory with this integrated system. With production lines that can be flexibly realigned according to a meticulous production plan and easily accommodate high-mix small-lot production, the manufacturing that takes place at Aizu is Sigma's greatest asset.

The history of our Aizu factory, our sole production base, is also the history of Sigma itself. From the moment we first conceived the idea of setting up a factory in Aizu, we have aimed to grow and develop as a member of the local community. We believe that when a company sets up a business base, it has an economic and cultural responsibility to the local community from that time onward. The global market may be the principal focus of our business, but our attention to responsibility begins at home.