Kyocera announced that it will acquire all shares in Melles Griot KK — a Japan-based manufacturer specializing in optical components which is currently a subsidiary of U.S.-based IDEX Corporation — in order to further expand its optical components business. Melles Griot KK is expected to become a wholly owned Kyocera Group company effective on Sept. 1, 2016.

Background

Kyocera Optec, a subsidiary of Kyocera Corporation, is a leading optical components provider focusing on development, production and sales of optical lenses and devices for the growing automotive market as well as for the factory automation (FA) and medical markets.

Particularly in the FA market, it is expected that efforts to further streamline and automize production processes will intensify worldwide. Moreover, demand is expected to grow for optical components which are incorporated into production equipment such as “machine vision” and “robot vision” that help image-recognition, positioning, measurement, and product inspection.

Melles Griot KK possesses development and manufacturing technology for large caliber lenses and high precision lenses used in FA devices. The Kyocera Group aims to strengthen its product lineup and expand its optical component business by maximizing synergies between the companies.

Main Objectives

Strengthen product lineup and expand sales network for the FA device market
Kyocera will increase its product lineup by developing new products through the synergy created from the companies’ technologies; while also expanding its global sales network by using the well-established customer base of Melles Griot KK.

Expand sales in the semiconductor processing equipment market
In the semiconductor processing equipment market, Melles Griot KK’s products are used in the front-end processes, while Kyocera Optec provides products for the back-end processes. By combining the two companies’ strengths, Kyocera will be able to offer products covering the whole manufacturing process.