Panasonic and MERLION have started the production of IP cameras in Russia

Moscow, Russia On February 11, Panasonic Russia and MERLION officially started production of Panasonic IP cameras at the iRU facilities. At the initial stage, it is planned to produce three popular models of security cameras, in the future the range may be expanded. The partners do not announce the amount of investment in the project but emphasize that the production line will be able to provide timely output for specialized projects of almost any scale.

The decision for co-production was made upon Panasonic's initiative in response to the wishes of the Russian customers of the company for whom the use of local products is becoming increasingly important. The iRU production process was certified for compliance with global technological standards of Panasonic Corporation.

The following models of IP-cameras are intended for production in Russia: WV-S2131LRF (indoor, dome), WV-X6531NRF (outdoor, PTZ) and WV-S1132RF (boxed). Today cameras of these types are the most demanded and provide up to 30% of sales of all cameras of the Japanese company in Russia. They are so popular due to the unique functions of artificial intelligence iA (intelligent Auto) and ROI System (self-learning coding technology) automatically detecting the areas with moving people or vehicles.

Smart self-learning devices allow for quick, without operator's involvement, provision of images of the highest quality, even in poor visibility. Panasonic cameras are considered to be one of the leaders in the industry with 144 dB dynamic range providing a balanced exposure under rapidly changing light and strong illumination in the frame. The latest i-Pro sensors guarantee activation of the color night vision mode. The modern h.265 codec in combination with the Smart Coding reduces the load on the channel by up to 75% against the h.264 standard and simplifies the storage and transmission of video data.

Today Panasonic IP cameras are widely used in industry, energy, transport and public sectors. The above-mentioned camera models were successfully used at the 2018 FIFA World Cup facilities, and the previous models were installed at infrastructure and sports facilities in Sochi prior to the beginning of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

"The co-production of ultra-modern cameras in Russia is a new stage of long-term cooperation between the famous Japanese Corporation and the leading Russian distributor MERLION," Dmitry Vinogradov, MERLION Director General, said. "For global manufacturers localization of production is now one of the key requirements for obtaining and strengthening the leading positions in the market segment in a particular region. With this regards, we are proud that cooperation with Panasonic begins with advanced devices. IP cameras, security, video imaging and analysis are the segments that are becoming one of the main drivers of the entire global market of security systems. The fact that we are moving in this direction along with one of the world leaders shows the importance of the Russian market for Panasonic Corporation. We are glad that our production facilities were chosen as a platform where Russian specialists will be assembling innovative gadgets according to the most advanced standards".

"Russia is the first country outside Asia where Panasonic starts local production of its security cameras. This has happened due to many reasons, but above all – the needs of customers from the three priority areas of the economy: the public sector, energy and transport," Yoichi Takaki, Panasonic Russia Vice-President, said. "When choosing a partner for this strategically important initiative, we wanted to be absolutely sure that all the necessary standards would be fully met at a particular enterprise. The fact that we are launching the project for production of IP cameras together with our long-term strategic partner MERLION demonstrates, first of all, the level of trust we have developed. In addition, MERLION is one of the oldest manufacturers of computer equipment in Russia. This company has come a long way both as a distributor and as an assembler. All this is of great importance to Panasonic because we value our reputation based on our own standards and the work of our partners."