Gooch & Housego Regulatory News (GHH)

22 Jan 2008 07:01

Gooch & Housego PLC22 January 2008 For immediate release 22 January 2008 Gooch & Housego PLC goes global 22 January 2008 - San Jose, California - Gooch & Housego PLC (G&H) todayannounced the launch of a new company that brings together five leading playersin the photonics industry under the Gooch & Housego brand name. The newoffering, launched at Photonics West 2008, will deliver a comprehensiveportfolio of customised optical components to the global industrial laser,bio-medical, defence and metrology market places. The launch will see Gooch & Housego UK, Cleveland Crystals, NEOS Technologies,Landwehr Electronic and SIFAM Fibre Optics joined as one company withheadquarters in the UK and offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia.The move comes exactly sixty years after Archie Gooch and Leslie Housegocollaborated to form a company that would emerge as a leader in precision opticsand crystalline materials. "The launch of this new global offering is a hugely positive step for Gooch &Housego, our customers and the industry," said Gooch & Housego CEO, GarethJones. "It will enable us to enhance the products and service we offer and iskey to driving the next phase of growth of the business. Internally it will openup new opportunities, including the creation of senior positions in NorthAmerica and the Asia Pacific region as we grow our global presence. "As five different brand names, our companies have delivered the highest qualityoptical solutions and have each become a major player in their respectivefields. Now, we have harnessed the offerings of each of these companies andconsolidated them with a reorganised management structure to operate under onebanner - Gooch & Housego. "As well as seeing us meet the market demand for reduced supplier numbers andsimplified supply chains, our global integration as Gooch & Housego will enableus to better leverage the combined skills from across the organisation todevelop new products that will enable us to enter new markets. "We expect this new strategy to maximise sales across our customer base andbring significant growth to the company," concluded Gareth. The integration involves five companies: Gooch & Housego UK, the world's leadingmanufacturer of acousto-optic Q-switches; Cleveland Crystals, an expert in thegrowth and application of non-linear crystals and a specialist in thefabrication of large aperture KDP and KD*P optics; NEOS Technologies, amanufacturer of complimentary acousto-optic technologies; Landwehr Electronic, adesigner and manufacturer of high-frequency microelectronics for laser controlsystems; and SIFAM Fibre Optics, a specialist in the design, manufacture andsupply of fibre optic solutions. Contacts: Gareth Jones, Chief Executive 0151 513 9678 Tim Thompson, Buchanan Communications 020 7466 5000 Scott Richardson-Brown, Oriel Securities Ltd 020 7710 7600 Andrew Edwards, Oriel Securities Ltd 020 7710 7600 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange