Olympus Europe acquires Soft Imaging System

FEBRUARY 4--Olympus Europe (Hamburg, Germany; www.olympus-europa.com) and Soft Imaging System have successfully worked together for many years in the light-optical microscopy market. Taking this cooperation further, Olympus Europe announced that it has acquired Soft Imaging System and its subsidiaries.

"This acquisition now provides the basis for combined R&D. With highly integrated, yet modular and scalable imaging solutions, Olympus Europe will be able to lead the market with products that are superior in speed, flexibility, and user friendliness." says Werner Teuffel, CEO Olympus Europe.

"We have mutually worked hard to provide the best service and products collectively to our customers. This strategic move is a natural enhancement of an already very successful and customer oriented relationship. By combining our strengths and leveraging on our joint expertise, we can and will move forward and target to be the number one imaging platform for all types of microscopes and applications in our market."

Olympus is a manufacturer of opto-digital products for business, leisure, medicine, science, and industry. The European Head Office was set up in 1963 in Hamburg, Germany. Today, the Olympus Europe Group comprises more than 27 marketing, service, and production companies in almost all European countries. With 3060 employees, Olympus Europe GmbH recorded a consolidated turnover of 1,215.7 million euros for the financial year 2002/2003.

Soft Imaging System, based in Muenster, Germany, is a provider of software and hardware solutions for digital imaging. This includes the development, marketing, and sales of image-analytical, image-processing, and image-archiving systems and image-analytical equipment. With approximately 120 employees, this company is very active in the fields of life science, material science, and industry, around the world and has offices in Europe, the United States, and Asia.