NEW LEICA FACILITY IN PORTUGAL OFFICIALLY OPENED

Leica Camera AG, Solms, Germany

Leica Camera AG celebrated the official opening of its facility in Portugal today.  The new building is still near the old site in Vila Nova de Famalicão.  With an area of approximately 52,000 square meters (559700 square feet), the new Leica plant offers a roughly 30 percent larger space.  Advanced production facilities and modern, highly efficient production methods provide additional ways of increasing capacity.  The total investment at the new site is approximately 23 million euros.  The relocation to the new production and administration building is almost complete.

During the opening celebration, Dr. Carlos Mira and Pedro Oliveira, CEO of Leica Aparelhos Opticos de Precisão SA, the Portuguese President Aníbal António Cavaco Silva, Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, head of the Supervisory Board of Leica Camera AG and Leica CEO Markus Limberger, responsible for the two production plants in Solms and Famalicão, were welcomed.

"We are proud that the Leica company has such great confidence in the competence of the Portuguese people, "Portuguese president Aníbal António Cavaco Silva said in his opening speech.

Dr. Andreas Kaufmann began by thanking all those involved in the construction and then emphasized the long tradition that combines Leica with the location of Vila Nova de Famalicão. "Many families in the region have found a professional home at Leica over generations.  With its precision mechanical know-how our Portuguese colleagues have contributed significantly to the success story of Leica Camera. Construction of the new plant near the old site is a visible sign that Leica has also found a home here and is involved in the future for the people of this region."

Leica CEO Markus Limberger, in view of four decades of cooperation, emphasized the close ties of the facilities in Solms and Vila Nova de Famalicão and the importance of investing in the area for the future: "The new, ultra-modern plant, next to our main factory in Solms, and from 2014 in Wetzlar, play a crucial and equal role for the company's success in the coming decades and will bring economic stability and continuity to the region in the long term."

Leica Aparelhos Opticos Precisão de Portugal SA was founded in 1973.  For the production of Leica products, this modern factory with its qualified employees has the same strategic importance for the Leica Company as the manufacturing facility in Solms. While maintaining uncompromising high quality standards and careful manufacturing, various Leica sports optics products, including the Compact Binoculars, and parts and assemblies for the current Leica lenses and system cameras are being made here.