Gooch & Housego Consolidates

Gooch & Housego Plc announced this week that it will mark its 60th anniversary by bringing five of its photonics and optoelectronics businesses together under the Gooch & Housego brand name.

The integration involves five companies: Gooch & Housego UK, a manufacturer of acousto-optic Q-switches; Cleveland Crystals, a grower of crystals for laser, electro-optics and laser fusion applications; acousto-optic technologies manufacturer Neos Technologies; Landwehr Electronic, a provider of high-frequency microelectronics for laser control systems; and fiber optics supplier Sifam Fibre Optics, which was acquired in May 2007.

Under the integration plan, the Cleveland Crystals, Neos Technologies, Landwehr Electronic and Sifam Fibre Optics brand names will disappear under the Gooch & Housego label. The company's headquarters will be in the UK and it will have offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia. The new company, Gooch & Housego, will provide optical components to the industrial laser, biomedical, defense and metrology markets. The company said it does not plan to reduce its workforce.

"As five different brand names, our companies have delivered the highest quality optical solutions and have each become a major player in their respective fields. Now, we have harnessed the offerings of each of these companies and consolidated them with a reorganized management structure to operate under one banner," said CEO Gareth Jones.

The company said the move comes 60 years after Archie Gooch and Leslie Housego collaborated to form the precision optics and crystalline materials provider.

"The launch of this new global offering is a hugely positive step for Gooch & Housego, our customers and the industry," said Jones. "It will enable us to enhance the products and services we offer and is key to driving the next phase of growth of the business. Internally it will open up new opportunities, including the creation of senior positions in North America and the Asia Pacific region as we grow our global presence."

The new company will debut later this month at the Photonics West 2008 exhibition in San Jose, Calif.

Two other Gooch & Housego subsidiaries in Orlando, Fla. -- Hyperspectral microscope systems maker Chromodynamics and light measurement tools provider Optronic Laboratories -- will remain as separate businesses.

For more information, visit: www.goochandhousego.com