-Fremont, California, March 13, 2003-
NIDEK Co., Ltd. announced today that its two wholly owned subsidiary companies – NIDEK Technologies Inc. and NIDEK Inc. will merge together on April 1st, 2003. NIDEK Technologies Inc. with a focus on research and development, regulatory and new business development in the eye care industry will merge with NIDEK's U.S. sales and marketing organization – NIDEK Inc. This merger is being undertaken to harmonize and solidify NIDEK's strong and growing presence in the U.S. vision care and ophthalmic industry. The company sees this strategic move as a way to further its growth objectives in the United States.
"We are very pleased to bring these two sister operations under one umbrella" stated Mr. Hideo Ozawa, President of NIDEK Co., Ltd. "NIDEK in the U.S. wants to streamline its operations - sales, marketing, R&D and business development efforts; and this merger enables us to focus and achieve our short and long-term goals at NIDEK. Under one umbrella, NIDEK Inc. will continue to provide excellent customer service and deliver to the market innovative, technologically advanced products and services, as it has done for over 20+ years. This merger will also allow NIDEK to focus it's efforts on developing new and innovative products and grow its very robust intellectual property portfolio in the years to come", added Mr. Ozawa.
Ray Sayano, PhD, Vice President and General Manager of NIDEK Technologies Inc. will continue his role and responsibilities at NIDEK in the areas of R&D and new business development activities in the U.S. ophthalmic and vision care industry. "Again, this clearly shows our ongoing commitment to the vision care industry, doctors and patients, as we have had for over 30 years at NIDEK. NIDEK wants to focus on key strategic areas and initiatives that will continue to drive the advancement of technology and enable NIDEK to continue its strong history in the U.S. and the global ophthalmic and vision care markets in delivering products that delivery Visionary Performance", added Mr. Ozawa.
With worldwide operations headquartered in Gamagori, Japan, NIDEK develops, manufactures, and sells laser systems and diagnostic equipment for ophthalmology, optometry, general surgery, gynecology, and cosmetic dermatological surgery. The Company's ophthalmic and optometric products are specifically designed for diagnosing and treating retinal diseases, glaucoma, refractive therapies, retinopathy of prematurity, and pre and post-operative cataract surgery therapy. Its surgical products are designed to treat patients in the growing applications of cosmetic laser surgery and laser skin resurfacing. NIDEK distributes its products through a network of distribution partners and a direct sales force.
Contact: Mr. Mitsutoshi Amano
Title: Manager, Corporate Planning
Phone: +81-533-67-6753
Fax: +81-533-67-6610
Email: mitsutoshi_amano@nidek.co.jp
