Leica Geosystems Honored with Market Leadership Award

Leica Geosystems Honored with Frost & Sullivan 2006 Market Leadership Award

Strong Laser Tracker Sales Growth and Commitment to Emerging Technologies Keep Leica Geosystems on Metrology Leadership Track   

North Kingstown, RI – October 24, 2006 – Leica Geosystems, a Hexagon Metrology company, announced today it has received a coveted Market Leadership Award in the Laser Tracker market segment from Frost & Sullivan, a New York-based global growth consultancy firm. Leica Geosystems was selected for this award based on the company's strong sales growth, and its lasting commitment to emerging technologies. Frost & Sullivan employs more than 1,500 industry consultants in 26 global offices, including market analysts, technology analysts, and economists. Leica Geosystems is a leading provider of laser tracker systems and theodolites for industrial measurement applications.

Leica Geosystems also received the 2004 Frost & Sullivan "Industrial Automation Product Innovation of the Year" award for its breakthrough Local Positioning Technology including the wireless, armless T-Probe and T-Scan hand scanner.

Duncan Redgewell, laser tracker product line manager, proudly accepted the award on behalf of Leica Geosystems at the 2006 Industrial Excellence Awards Banquet held at the Waldorf Hilton Aldwych in London. Frost & Sullivan recognizes leading companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in industries, such as Industrial Automation. Leica Geosystems' portable 3D coordinate measurement systems are used by prominent manufacturers and service providers worldwide in the aerospace, automotive, and shipbuilding industries. 

"Leica Geosystems has displayed excellence in all areas of the market leadership process, including the identification of market challenges, drivers and restraints, as well as strategy development and methods of addressing these market dynamics," says Madhan Dhandayutham, Head Analyst at Frost and Sullivan. "In the selection process, our analysts traced competitor revenue and market share within the metrology industry. This was achieved through interviews with all market participants and extensive secondary research of proprietary data sources. Finally, the competitors were compared and ranked for relative position. We consider Leica Geosystems a market leader because of its diversified product offerings through consistent product design that incorporate emerging technologies, and the sales growth rate reaching in the high double digits."

"We are especially honored to receive a prestigious industry award for the second time in two years from the world's premier growth consultancy - Frost & Sullivan. Last year, Frost & Sullivan was ranked #1 in the industry in terms of revenue growth, which proves this company has what it takes to be a world leader in market consulting, monitoring new technologies, performing strategic analysis, and market research of competitors," states Bill Fetter, Marketing Director for Leica Geosystems North America.

"Leica Geosystems is the only company in the metrology marketplace with mature PCMM solutions that go far beyond laser tracking. This fact has not gone unnoticed by leading aerospace and automotive companies who are now large volume users of our innovative wireless Leica T-Probe and T-Scan hand scanner systems. Manufacturers choose our portable laser trackers for their long-term reliability and superior thermal stability. Leica laser trackers deliver consistent performance and do not require frequent calibration as compared to similar products. The fact that most inspection service companies use Leica Laser Trackers in the field attests to the high level of accuracy and dependability of our product line," concludes Fetter.

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit www.frost.com.

About Leica Geosystems

Leica Geosystems is an internationally leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of solutions that capture, visualize, and process spatial data using the most advanced technologies in the marketplace. Leica Geosystems holds the foremost position in the world market in several high technology sectors. The company has 10 offices in the United States, and has representatives in over 100 countries worldwide. The firm’s corporate headquarters are located in Switzerland. For more information, visit their web site at www.leica-geosystems.com.

About Hexagon Metrology North America

Hexagon Metrology serves the high precision measurement and inspection needs of North American manufacturers with its extensive line of metrology hardware, software, accessories, and customer services. The company's name-brand portfolio of quality assurance products include Brown & Sharpe, Leica Geosystems, Sheffield, Romer, CimCore, DEA, Leitz, and TESA. Hexagon Metrology has an unrivaled installation base of more than 1.5 million handheld, stationary and portable CMMs, and over 20,000 licences of PC-DMIS metrology software. The company is a subsidiary of Hexagon Measurement Technologies, a business unit of Hexagon AB (Nacka Strand, Sweden). The Hexagon community consists of nearly 7,800 employees located in 30 countries. Call 1-800-426-1066 or visit www.hexagonmetrology.us for more information about Hexagon Metrology North America and its trusted brands.