Olympus Optical Co. profile on Hospital Technology Website

The visible difference

Hamburg, January 2000 - Olympus was founded in 1919 as a manufacturer of microscopes. Olympus Optical Co. (Europa) GmbH is the European headquarters of the Japanese Olympus Group, one of the leading manufacturers in the optoelectronics industry. Founded in 1963, the Olympus Group in Europe now comprises ten sales and service companies in all the main European countries, as well as companies in Europe which research, develop and manufacture for the world market. Group turnover in the 98/99 financial year was over DM 1,640 million, achieved by 2,880 employees across Europe. The product range includes systems for microscopy, photography, endoscopy, diagnostics and communications. The Olympus Group works intensively all over the world on developing solutions which centre on customers’ requirements. Individual technologies are combined to form complete systems which are tailored to customers’ needs with comprehensive service contracts and other services. All over the world, Olympus products make a difference with their ergonomic and aesthetic design, innovative ”sensing technology” aimed at enhancing natural human skills of perception, and the special performance of both products and employees.

The range of products for microscopy covers every user requirement - ”simple” laboratory and teaching microscopes, routine microscopes, research microscopes which can be fully automated, telemicroscopy, image analysis and image archiving systems, stereo microscopes and confocal laser scanning microscopes. Meaningful products for some 1.4 million applications can be put together from 3,500 individual parts. The product concept is always to provide the best solution for the customer to specific requirements. Across the entire product range the components and systems are designed for modularity. This offers an almost unlimited variety of system configurations and flexibility for latger upgrades, side by side with fixed standard cofigurations.

The Olympus Group’s social conscience involves a commitment to science and culture as well as to the environment. Olympus Europa’s charitable foundation called ”Science for Life” was set up in Hamburg in 1988 and promotes science and research at home and abroad in the fields of microscopy, scientific photography, clinical chemistry and endoscopic diagnosis and treatment.