April 23, 2013 -- Wetzlar, Germany / Sao Paulo, Brazil. Leica Microsystems and Leica Biosystems have cemented ties with their Brazilian Leica distributor: All shares of Aotec Instrumentos Cientificos Ltda of São Paulo, Brazil, have been acquired. Aotec is a provider of microscopy and histopathology solutions and has been a Leica distributor for more than 25 years. All Aotec associates will remain with Aotec. Furthermore, the company is actively hiring additional staff to enlarge the Brazilian teams. Leica Microsystems and Leica Biosystems thereby strengthen their market position.
“Brazil is a very important market. Through this acquisition we are developing our business further and invest into the service to our customers,” says Dr. Jürgen Kress, Senior Sales Director High Growth Markets, Leica Biosystems. “As a long-standing business partner for Leica, Aotec has established stable customer relationships on behalf of our companies. Their expertise is highly valued – the associates possess a deep knowledge of the Brazilian market and have provided services of outstanding quality to our customers,” says Yves Janin, Managing Director Distributors Sales Area, Leica Microsystems.
Having been founded as a family business in the 19th century, Leica Microsystems has a tradition of developing and evolving high precision optics and scientific instruments “with the user, for the user”. “We work with our customers to ensure that our products and services are tailor-made. Now, we will work even closer with our Brazilian customers to meet their requirements,” says Janin. “The same applies to Leica Biosystems. We offer our customers instruments, consumables and reagents for the entire workflow, so they benefit from having a single source for all their histopathology needs”, says Kress.
“We are looking forward to continuing our excellent service to our customers and to developing the Brazilian business,” says Luis Roberto Mesquita who owned Aotec together with his brother Carlos Mesquita and his nephew Marcio Mesquita.
The current management teams will work on the integration of the businesses and operate from the existing headquarters in Sao Paulo.
Leica Microsystems is a world leader in microscopes and scientific instruments. Founded as a family business in the nineteenth century, the company’s history was marked by unparalleled innovation on its way to becoming a global enterprise.
Its historically close cooperation with the scientific community is the key to Leica Microsystems’ tradition of innovation, which draws on users’ ideas and creates solutions tailored to their requirements. At the global level, Leica Microsystems is organized in three divisions, all of which are among the leaders in their respective fields: the Life Science Division, Industry Division and Medical Division.
The company is represented in over 100 countries with six manufacturing facilities in five countries, sales and service organizations in 20 countries, and an international network of dealers. The company is headquartered in Wetzlar, Germany.
www.leica-microsystems.com
Leica Biosystems is a global leader in workflow solutions and automation, striving to advance cancer diagnostics to improve patients’ lives. Leica Biosystems provides anatomical pathology laboratories and researchers a comprehensive product range for each step in the pathology process, from sample preparation and staining to imaging and reporting. Leica’s easy-to-use and consistently reliable offerings help improve workflow efficiency and diagnostic confidence. The company is represented in over 100 countries. It has manufacturing facilities in 6 countries, sales and service organizations in 19 countries, and an international network of dealers. The company is headquartered in Nussloch, Germany.
www.LeicaBiosystems.com