Olympus Corporate Brochure

At Olympus, we focus on enriching people’s lives every day. Olympus products are used to capture images of our universe, from the tiny unseen world visible through a microscope to breathtaking panoramas of the planet Earth as viewed by International Space Station astronauts using a digital SLR camera. From operating rooms to oil rigs, from research labs to rock-climbing expeditions, our optical excellence, product innovation and design integrity allow people across the world to reach beyond their limits to view more and do more.

Olympus: Making A World of Difference

Our jOb is tO help yOu expand yOur frOntiers – to see more, understand more, enjoy more, and accomplish more than you ever could before.

Photo by: Jay Kinghorn, Olympus Visionary.

Many people are familiar with Olympus as a leading-edge camera company; after all, we have been a photography innovator for decades. We created the first compact 35mm single-lens reflex (SLR) camera, the celebrated OM system. We introduced the first all-digital SLR camera system, starting with the E-System’s E-1, designed from the ground up to be entirely digital. And in 2009, we introduced the small, light Micro Four Thirds™ PEN® camera series, a mirrorless, interchangeable lens marvel that provides users with the ability to create art quality images and high-definition videos with high fidelity linear sound.

Olympus also created the first camera that allowed doctors to look inside the human body, and we continue to introduce life-altering imaging technologies for healthcare professionals. If you have had a colonoscopy, it is highly likely that it was performed by a doctor using an advanced Olympus scope. If you or someone you know has ever needed a biopsy, a pathologist may have examined it using an Olympus microscope. And, if anyone in your family has ever needed surgery, your trusted physician may have used an innovative laparoscopic surgical system from Olympus.

Roots in Innovation, Healthcare and Service to HumanityOlympus has roots in innovation, healthcare and service to humanity that go back nearly a century. Our first product was a microscope, introduced in Japan in 1920. Since then, we have carried forward that proud heritage of optical excellence. Olympus and its people approach designing professional-level cameras, precision healthcare solutions, and life science and industrial instruments with the same philosophy and commit-ment to perfection. At Olympus Corporation of the Americas, we view our customers – from the Arctic to Argentina, and from world-renowned medical professionals to manufacturing engineers to active, artistic photographers – as people with whom we hope to have relationships that will last for decades. Our job is to help you expand your frontiers – to see more, understand more, enjoy more, and accomplish more than you ever could before.

In North and South America, Olympus Corporation of the Americas serves professional and consumer markets with instruments and products that make a difference. Olympus employees approach their work with passion and purpose, and seek to add value to the world with their business activi-ties. Employees who work here share important ideals. Indeed, many employees say that they choose to work at Olympus because of the opportunity to engage in work that benefits both mankind and nature.

Whether we are helping our customers learn about less invasive diagnostic procedures, develop alternative forms of energy, contribute to scientific discovery, review audio recordings of important testimony, educate the doctors of tomorrow, raise awareness of the human condition through photojournalism, or just enjoy their vacation photos – Olympus enhances people’s lives.

Olympus also is actively engaged in improving medical education and helping doctors expand healthcare services to underserved communities in the Americas. We promote public awareness and screenings that will help reduce the incidence of deadly cancers. We offer advanced information and educa-tion to professionals and the public in a variety of areas through web education, workshops and seminars. We have embraced ambitious environmental goals and are working to preserve and protect our planet. We encourage staff to participate in improving their local communities.

In every aspect of our work, from product development and social responsibility to relationships with customers, partners, suppliers and employees, Olympus stresses our connection to society.

in every aspect Of Our wOrk, from product development and social responsibility to relationships with customers, partners, suppliers and employees, olympus stresses our connection to society.

Photo by: Jay Kinghorn, Olympus Visionary.

The Olympus healthcare journey started almost a century ago with the development of a functional and affordable medical microscope. Our passion for helping people live healthier lives remains at the heart of who we are today. We work with physi-cians each day, matching our innovative capabilities in medical technology and precision manufacturing with their clinical skills to provide the best possible outcomes for patients and society. Olympus is a pioneer in enabling physicians to peer inside the human body, fight cancers with minimally invasive procedures, and diagnose and treat a broad range of illnesses covering a wide variety of medical specialties. And while the providers of healthcare are our primary customers, we are always focused on the patients, whose well-being is at the core of all we do.

Helping People Get and Stay Well Olympus Medical and Surgical Products

“Olympus supports us in the context of our never-ending journey. That journey, of course, is about offering the very best, safest care, while always seeking to provide our services with less pain, quicker recoveries and less scarring,” said Alexander Rosemurgy, MD, Professor of Surgery and Medicine at the University of South Florida and Surgical Director at the Tampa General Hospital Digestive Disorders Center.

Expanding the BoundariesToday, many patients are benefiting from the Olympus award-winning, flexible-tip high-definition (HD) EndoEYE® laparoscopic system for minimally invasive surgery that has broken historical barriers by allowing doctors to visualize organs from many angles, bending and flexing the instrument tip to obtain the critical view they need. This breakthrough design has supported the development of laparo-endoscopic single site (LESS) surgery, an ingenious surgical procedure intended to leave the patient with virtually no scars.

“By utilizing the flexible tip technology found exclusively with Olympus camera systems, the surgeon can make LESS surgery an integral aspect of their practice,” said Michael Kia, DO, an Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery at Michigan State University in clinical practice at McLaren Regional Medical Center in Flint, Michigan. “Once a surgeon has experienced LESS surgery with the Olympus flexible tip camera system, it is difficult to imagine an adequate substitute.”

The Olympus culture of innovation and excellence in opto-digital design has helped us make significant contributions to the modern age of endoscopy, changing the way that physi-cians diagnose and treat patients with gastrointestinal and pulmonary disease. Olympus produced its first fiberoptic endoscope in the 1960s, allowing physicians to view the interior of the stomach and colon in real time. At the time, it was known that colon polyps could harbor cancer, and it was thought that polyps were a likely precursor to colon cancer. Such polyps were removed via open surgery. However, two innovative individuals, one an Olympus engineer and the other a surgeon, collaborated to address this problem. They invented an electrocautery snare that could be passed through the channel of an endoscope, cutting the polyp off at its base and sparing the patient the need for surgery.

Medical and Surgical ProductS

Helping People Get and Stay Well Olympus Medical and Surgical Products

Our passiOn fOr helping peOple live healthier lives reMainS at the heart of who we are today.

EVIS EXERA II ® HDTV/NBI adjustable stiffness colonoscope.

Olympus has truly phenOmenal instruments, and the coMPany’S SuPPort iS Second to none.”

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PKS PlasmaSORD™ solid organ removal device.

Era of Endoscopic Development This elegantly simple solution for removing polyps transformed an open surgical procedure into one that is endoscope-based and much less invasive. Endoscopic polypectomy expanded the application of endoscopy from simply diagnosis (seeing), to therapy (treating). Polypectomy is now the established means of preventing colon cancer. “The greatest achievement of the great era of endoscopic development … is colonoscopic polypec-tomy,” wrote Michael V. Sivak Jr., MD, an Emeritus Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, currently also affiliated with the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Cleveland, in an article in the journal Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (2004, 60:977-982). “Cancer has been a major adversary of the latter twentieth century, (and) colonoscopic polypectomy has saved many thousands of lives.”

Following on the heels of that initial invention have come hundreds of EndoTherapy devices and accessories that enable endoscopists to perform valuable diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in every organ of the gastrointestinal tract.

Innovation continues at Olympus with the introduction of the EVIS EXERA II® Endoscopy System. This system incorporates several firsts, including a 170-degree field of view, high-defini-tion video imaging and proprietary Narrow Band Imaging™ technology. Together, these features provide remarkably clear views of anatomical structures and fine capillary patterns, critical components of a physician’s diagnosis. In addition, this system establishes a single video platform that can be used across clinical specialties, providing enhanced reliability, standardiza-tion, uniform staff training, great flexibility and efficiency. Diego Murature, MD, Chief of the Surgical Endoscopy Unit at the Eva Peron Teaching Hospital in Granadero Baigorria, Argentina, notes the difference the new system makes. “We can do a lot of specialized procedures we couldn’t do before, allowing many more patients to have less invasive surgeries, which is a great advantage for them. We have become the reference hospital in the region for gastrointestinal endoscopy,” he said.

Men’s and Women’s HealthAll the while that Olympus was changing diagnostic and thera-peutic endoscopy, similar breakthroughs were happening in urology and gynecology via the work of ACMI, first established as a urology company more than a century ago. ACMI was a pioneer in the development of the rigid and flexible cystoscope, ureteroscope, and the first uterine resectoscope. The Olympus acquisition of Gyrus ACMI in 2008 has allowed the companies to combine the world-renowned opto-digital capabilities of Olympus with the unique capabilities of Gyrus ACMI in optics and energy-based systems focused on providing advanced therapeutic options. Of particular note are exciting new advances being made today in the fields of men’s and women’s health.

For women requiring a hysterectomy, PK® Technology offers a therapeutic solution using advanced bipolar energy, replacing the need for traditional sutures and staples. The PKS PlasmaSORD™ disposable hand instrument is the world’s first solid organ removal device to use safe, bipolar energy to remove the uterus. “We can take some of the most difficult

hysterectomy cases, and perform much less invasive surgery than we used to. Olympus has truly phenomenal instruments, and the company’s support is second to none,” said Ramon Yera, MD, a gynecologic surgeon with Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles. In addition, PK Technology uses bipolar energy to treat benign enlargement of the prostate in men and bladder tumors in both men and women. And to help visualize the upper urinary tract, we recently introduced the world’s first digital flexible ureteroscope. “The digital flexible ureteroscope is a game changer,” said Theodore Wagner, MD, of Northeast Indiana Urology in Fort Wayne, Indiana. “I can better and more easily access, visualize and treat pathologies to help improve patient outcomes.”

Innovation, Education and PartnershipOlympus has expanded this kind of landmark work to other clinical specialties, as we partner with gastroenterologists, urologists, general surgeons, pulmonologists, gynecologists and otolaryngologists who are pushing back the boundaries of their own clinical practices. “I use these systems for tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies,” said B. Manrin Rains III, MD, Director of the Mid-South Sinus Center and President of Mid-South ENT in Memphis, Tennessee. “Olympus is bringing to otolaryngology the latest developments in endoscopy and video imaging, which will make all the difference.”

In addition to providing systems and support, Olympus provides advanced training to doctors, nurses and technolo-gists. “Companies not only have to develop technology, but also take an active role in education so surgeons can offer the latest technologies to patients,” said Francois M. Blaudeau, MD, Director of the Center for Advanced Gynecologic Surgery in Birmingham, Alabama. “Olympus does this exceptionally well.”

Looking to the future, Olympus helps support researchers studying the newest and most promising approaches to minimally invasive surgery, such as the concept of Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES). NOTES is a surgical approach with the potential to eliminate scars completely by allowing surgery on internal organs via access through the body’s natural openings. Procedures like LESS surgery and NOTES are changing the face of surgery.

Olympus also remains committed to active support of clinical specialties outside of direct product areas. Our Partnered Technology team is actively exploring the world of clinical medicine and surgery, searching for opportunities where we can apply our technology and expertise, maximizing their benefits in the realm of patient care. This is not only good business, but good for society as well. John Martin, MD, of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, summed up Olympus’ relationship with physicians and surgeons: “Simply put, Olympus provides excep-tional equipment that helps me deliver excellent care to the patients I see every day and continued innovation in technology and utility to take my work eons beyond where we are now.” Altogether, it is a design for success.

Medical and Surgical ProductS

From cell biologists studying cancer to neuroscientists studying the origins of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers have long relied on Olympus equipment to expand the frontiers of scientific exploration. “As a scientist, the number one thing I need is superior optics, sensitivity and an open architecture with easy access to custom modifications. Olympus has really pushed the optical envelope over the past decade, and is making everyone else catch up,” said Enrico Gratton, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Univer-sity of California, Irvine. “Higher performance optics and new technologies like the TIRF illuminator and the SIM scanner are science-altering innovations that have been extremely valuable.” A technique called Brainbow, used with great success on the Olympus FluoView® FV1000 laser scanning confocal microscope, has enabled scientists to reveal the brain in never-before-seen beauty and detail. Each neuron takes up its own distinctive color, enabling scientists to follow its tangled individual pathway through brain tissue, helping reveal how each neuron contributes to our nervous system function. Neuro-scientists are also working to unlock the secrets of the brain’s neural networks, using Olympus instruments like the VS110™ imaging system to create whole-brain images for analysis.

Heidi McBride, Ph.D., of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, is a cell biologist trained at the respected European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany. “I need good, sharp, fast, reliable imaging for my photoactivation and uncaging work, and the FV1000 microscope does that easily,” she said. “In fact, researchers who have other companies’ instruments often drive across town to use my Olympus system. Just seven days after getting the instrument, we gave a presen-tation that extensively used images we’d captured with it.”

Images Aid in HealthcareIn addition to research, thousands of microscopes are in daily use in laboratories and hospitals where pathologists and their colleagues review biopsies and other patient slides. Olympus is the leading provider of microscopes for clinical laboratories, providing doctors with crisp, bright images and data to aid in diagnosis. David Kaminsky, MD, founder of Palm Springs Pathology Services in California, incorporates microscope images into his reports. “With the Olympus microscope and camera, I can insert images into my report with one click,” he said. “The photos allow referring physicians to follow my train of thought and verify my conclusions. They can also use the images to better communicate with patients about our findings,” he added. “Finally, the images embedded in the report could serve as a failsafe record in case an archived slide is broken or lost, as happened during Hurricane Katrina.”

The field of clinical digital imaging (CDI) offers tremendous promise, and Olympus will be here to meet the changing technology and practice needs of researchers, physicians and medical technologists. CDI, which includes virtual slide and digital pathology systems, allows the review of pathology specimens without handling traditional glass slides. Through its 2006 acquisi-tion of Bacus Laboratories, the leader in virtual slide technology and software, Olympus offers comprehensive virtual microscope slide and digital pathology systems for research and develop-ment. In the future, being able to share analysis and attach images to a patient’s medical file is a logical next step. We offer many products, including hardware and software to create digital databases of highly detailed virtual slide images captured at varying depths and magnifications for consultation, education and training. Doctors can review any area of a slide that is of concern, under a wide variety of magnifications.

Outreach and education are also important. Cynthia Paszkowski, Ph.D., selected hundreds of Olympus microscopes to outfit the new biology laboratories at the University of Alberta, Canada, because of the systems’ brightness, crisp images, ruggedness and ease of use, along with the flexibility and helpfulness of her Olympus team. “When we did a comparative analysis, the Olympus instruments were our hands-down favorite,” she said. In addition to supporting microscopy education at universities, Olympus sponsors the online Microscopy Resource Center, which includes some of the most extensive and useful educa-tional information available about optical microscopy. The annual Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition®, featured in Scientific American and hundreds of other media, has become the world’s foremost forum for recognizing and honoring life science images and movies captured through microscopes.

Life Science imaging SyStemS

Vision and Discovery Olympus Research and Clinical Microscopy

A technique cAlled BrAinBow, used with greAt success on the olympus FluoView® FV1000 lAser scAnning conFocAl microscope, haS enabLed ScientiStS to reveaL the brain in never-before-Seen beauty and detaiL.

Photo by: Dr. Jean Livet Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

Specimen: “Brainbow” Mouse Brain Stem Technique: Confocal microscopy

Olympus prOducts are designed fOr the roughest, most challenging environments, to meet the toughest criteria for performance.

OmniScan ® MX flaw detector.

Solar Panels and Spaghetti Olympus Industrial-Related BusinessesWhat do spaghetti and solar panels have in common? They both are carefully inspected as part of their manufac-turing processes. In fact, almost everything that is designed, engineered and manufactured is inspected, tested and/or measured to ensure its performance, safety and reliability. Product performance is especially vital for life-and-death products such as aircraft components, medical stents and child car safety seats, many of which are inspected by professionals using Olympus industrial instruments.

Dan Sullivan is Engineering Manager, Failure Analysis, for ISE Labs, Inc. of Fremont, California. His laboratory does contract device qualification and certification, reliability testing, research and development evaluation and failure analysis for a wide variety of customers. Observing problems under the micro-scope is an essential step in the process. “With our microscope and camera, we can see a pin that has failed and document the burn mark, so the engineers can change the design or manufacturing process,” he said. “We can look at the quality and the thickness of films on the surface of a solar panel. Our images are excellent and the Olympus microscope works easily for the wide variety of samples that come into the lab.”

Inspecting surfaces where interactions between parts occur, such as the way coating adheres to a medical stent or paint adheres to a car, is a growing area of metrology. The new Olympus LEXT series of confocal laser microscopes take surface metrology to the next level with enhanced scan accuracy and speed, the ability to see steeply changing surface features, and what may be the first-ever accuracy and repeatability guarantee offered by an industrial confocal system manufacturer.

Look but Don’t Touch Olympus nondestructive testing (NDT) technologies, such as ultrasound, eddy current and remote visual inspection (RVI), provide important quality control and safety inspection benefits. These NDT technologies as well as high-speed video cameras allow users to look at everything from golf balls to aircraft engine parts, visualizing what’s under or on the surface without damaging the product. Bryan McKown is certified with the American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT NDT Level III), holds Certified Welding Inspector certifications and has years of experience in structural welding in the construction and petrochemical fields. Currently in the wind power industry, he uses the Olympus OmniScan® inspection system with conventional pulse-echo, time of flight diffraction (TOFD) and phased array techniques for examining wind power structures and components for weld flaws and laminations in flat steel plate. “We’ve benefited even more than we expected in the areas of efficiency, detection, repeatability and documentation,” he reported. “Olympus has enabled our quality department to give an enormous amount of time back to production while continuing to meet or exceed our requirements.”

Enabling Green Products Applications for NDT technology are varied. A Mexican petrochemical company has found that using Olympus NDT equipment has boosted accuracy and reduced refinery pipe inspection time from four days to one. In addition, Olympus technologies can support manufacturers who seek to produce greener products. A well known soft drink company that switched to Olympus achieved 10 times the measurement accuracy in examining the thickness of its plastic bottles, enabling the company to make thinner bottles, saving raw material costs and benefiting the environment.

Olympus IPLEX RVI instruments allow specialized cameras to snake into intricate locations such as jet engines to examine critical components for wear, defects or foreign matter that can pose dangers. This kind of technology also works in many other demanding applications, such as examining the long pipes through which pharmaceutical products pass during production, checking for debris or wear in the tubes that could affect the safety or performance of medications.

Olympus products are designed for the roughest, most challenging environments, to meet the toughest criteria for performance. Even parts of the Alaskan pipeline are inspected using Olympus equipment. The combination of rugged, high performance technology, the delivery of high-quality, decision-oriented data for industrial applications, and our long-range business commitment to customers is why so many firms select Olympus.

industrial testing instruments

Olympus is a full-fledged partner, offering the highest quality service, knowledge, integrity and instrumentation to hospitals and other treatment centers.

National Service Center. San Jose, Calif.

Olympus is a full-fledged partner, offering the highest quality service, knowledge, integrity and instrumentation to hospitals and other treatment centers.

Primary among their concerns is the well-being of patients. As such, we promote the exchange of information among caregivers to help move best practices forward and lead to better outcomes. We also collaborate on and participate in dozens of professional meetings and courses each year throughout North and South America, all designed to give physicians and other healthcare professionals the latest information, tools and techniques used by the luminaries in their fields.

Even more, we have served as a partner to physicians and hospitals throughout the Americas for decades, providing service and support, extensive training and education, and customized financing solutions exclusively for the healthcare industry.

Delivering Technology and Financing For more than 20 years, Olympus Financial Services has been developing tailored financing solutions to meet the business needs of healthcare providers who use Olympus products and services. We offer a complete solution that includes equipment, consumables and service within a single financing payment.

Our efficiency-driven programs enable customers to address a variety of needs, whether expanding their facilities or practices, diversifying their services or improving their liquidity. Solutions such as Fair Market Value and $1.00 Purchase Option lease structures as well as turnkey project financing arrangements can be customized to meet customers’ changing organizational requirements, so that they can focus on their core business – patient care.

Michelle Harnell-Bobel, the GI Care Center Director and CERT Administrative Director at the University of Chicago Medical Center, appreciates the Cost Per Procedure® (CPP®) product as part of the financing solution that Olympus customized with her facility. The CPP offering, which allows the university to pay a rate based on the number of procedures that each endoscope performs, keeps expenditures for the endoscopes on the operating budget, rather than on the capital budget. In addition, the financing solution allows complete versatility for adding or changing instruments and capabilities as needed.

The after-sales and service relationship with Olympus also are part of the equation. “When I began working here, my Olympus reps got me up to speed and were very thorough,” she said. “We went through every item, line by line. The contract that Olympus provided was written in layman’s terms. I’m a nurse, not a lawyer – and this was one of the clearest contracts I’ve signed.”

Service Strength and Experience As the equipment manufacturer, we are uniquely capable of both financing the acquisition of the latest technology and ensuring its optimal working condition. As such, service is another reason that Olympus is a leading equipment provider to hospitals. “It’s very reassuring that Olympus is servicing its own scopes instead of our having to send them to some outside vendor,” Ms. Harnell-Bobel added.

In the United States, Olympus offers specialized repair and maintenance support at customer facilities with more than 150 field service engineers and support specialists, a Technical Assistance Center that provides remote troubleshooting 24/7, and an integrated network of nearly two dozen Olympus and Gyrus ACMI service centers. A customer self-service web portal provides direct information regarding repair history and allows for immediate submittal and tracking of service orders. We also maintain a comprehensive device history for endoscopy products. In Canada, Olympus performs comprehensive repair and maintenance for Olympus and Gyrus ACMI flexible and rigid scope customers through a major service center in Toronto. A Technical Assistance Center is also available for trouble-shooting, and Olympus field service staff across Canada provides support for customers’ endoscopy and scientific equipment products. Additionally, Olympus has service center locations in Puerto Rico, Brazil and Mexico. Customers in other areas of Latin America utilize repair services provided by our distributor network. Throughout the Americas, Olympus support specialists are dedicated to helping customers with a variety of activities and training to increase efficiencies and reduce service and repairs.

service

A Healthy Relationship Olympus and its Service to Hospitals

Capturing It All Olympus Cameras, Lenses, Accessories and Audio Products

Olympus users lead active lifestyles and our cameras enable them to capture it all. Whether hiking in the Grand Canyon, swimming in the Caribbean, skiing at Banff or attending a family reunion, Olympus products are built for any adventure, big or small.

They also help us express ourselves and make everyday events more fun. Sharing photos, videos and audio recordings online has become a central part of life for millions of people. Photography can also be a tool to educate and inspire, and in the right hands, cameras help us narrate history, reflect opinions, build excitement, document breakthroughs, capture beauty and create art.

Rugged Reliability, Top Performance Olympus cameras are renowned for their ruggedness. For instance, this story comes from Sam Mangram of Dallas, Texas: “My Olympus camera dropped off the top of a 300-foot-high wind turbine tower, and continues to work like a champ! These are the only cameras my business will ever use.” Kurt Best of Seattle, Washington offered his own amazing story: “My camera fell into the lake. Two days later, I found it in about nine feet of water, and it still works just as well as ever. Thank you, Olympus, for making a camera that even I can’t destroy!”

Olympus cameras deliver innovation, ease of use, rugged reliability and top performance to photographers at every level. Our latest PEN® cameras deliver unmatched multimedia creative freedom blended with digital single-lens reflex (SLR) image quality, high-definition (HD) video and stereo audio, all in a compact camera body. Our Stylus Tough cameras deliver bright, crisp images in a shockproof, waterproof, crushproof, freezeproof – even kidproof – package.

For professional photographers, Olympus not only offers speed, live view features and reliability, but also renowned optical performance. As more and more pros make the switch to Olympus, they follow in the footsteps of luminaries like

Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Jay Dickman, who has been an Olympus Visionary Photographer since 2003. Vision-aries are professional photographers who span all fields and genres of photography, and who capture stunning images using Olympus E-System products.

“I switched because the optics are absolutely stellar, the camera and lenses are lighter and less intrusive, and the technology feels like something for the future instead of the past,” Dickman said. “Olympus DSLR cameras give me images that work for galleries and high-end magazine spreads, and my camera is compact, fast, has killer optics and perfect ergonomics. And talk about rugged – in my work, I don’t have the luxury of pampering equipment or putting it away when it’s too wet or cold. A fellow photographer asked me recently how I clean the sensor on my camera. I had to tell him that I don’t need to clean the sensor. Olympus incorporated a dust reduction system that does it for me, and it works perfectly.”

Cameras and audio

olympus produCts are built for any adventure, big or small.

Stylus Tough series digital camera.

Cameras and audio

olympus cameras deliver innovation, ease of use, rugged reliability and top performance to photographers at every level.

Fellow award-winning pro photographer and Olympus Visionary Larry Price says, “Olympus pays tremendous attention to the feedback it receives from photographers, and its products reflect that input. The heart of any camera is the glass, and Olympus offers spectacular glass – better than anything else on the market. The images are sharp from corner to corner, across all f-stops, and across the broadest range of lenses. These are the most responsive, intuitive cameras I’ve ever worked with.”

Valued RelationshipsOlympus has also formed close working relationships with the retailers who offer its products to the public, allowing the company to be more responsive to the rapidly evolving tastes of users. “We sell Olympus because the company continues to drive innovation and keeps the needs of independent retailers in mind,” said Joel Paymer, President of Camera Land.

“Our strong relationship with Olympus has enabled us to offer consumers incredibly innovative products,” added Rob Eller-stein, director of electronics merchandising for QVC.

Ian Landy of Henry’s, the largest independent photo retailer in Canada, was delighted to be able to offer a unique Henry’s-only version of the Olympus STYLUS TOUGH-6000 camera to celebrate the retailer’s 100th anniversary. “Everyone benefited. Olympus works with us to create unique products to meet the needs of our consumers.”

Olympus audio recorders are another part of the company’s commitment to help people “capture it all.” Our products continue to be industry leaders within the professional dictation, music and business arenas. The Olympus DS series provides a flexible system that enables doctors, lawyers and other profes-sionals to enhance their workflow. The LS series recorders are perfect for those who want studio-quality sound in a palm-sized device, including musicians and nature enthusiasts.

Cameras and audio

Photo by: Jay Dickman, Olympus Visionary.

Even Grammy Award-winning musician John Mayer recently blogged that he never leaves the studio without his hand-held Olympus audio recorder. It’s “great for logging my lyrical and melodic ideas,” he said. Our other audio recorders are great for recording anything from to-do lists to class lectures.

Olympus has also been recognized with the Wondervision Award from the National Federation for the Blind for its DM recorders’ voice guidance systems, which makes them more accessible to the blind.

We help strengthen clients’ enterprises through our employees’ knowledge, integrity, responsiveness and dedication.

2009 ACG Trade Show, San Diego, Calif.

olympus employees are engaged in purposeful work, and operate according to a shared and deep conviction that by offering the best solutions, we create value for our customers, shareholders and other employees. our employees’ collective focus is expressed through world-class products and a legacy of providing innovative technology and solutions. we also help strengthen clients’ enterprises through our employees’ knowledge, integrity, responsiveness and dedication. “what i enjoy most is knowing that my job, and the products and services we provide to the medical and surgical field, make an impact in research and treatment of serious diseases,” said one long-time employee.

“our customers love our great products and fantastic service, and that makes me proud to work for olympus,” added another staff member.

Driven to Excellence olympus explicitly recognizes that employees are among the most important assets of the company, and the investment we make in attracting, training, and retaining the best people

throughout the americas is fundamental to our current success and future growth. we strive to ensure that employees are full partners in the business of creating and delivering value for our customers. we are committed to providing ongoing staff development and training, and to continuously growing our capabilities to serve customers by providing access to the skills and tools employees need to work efficiently and effectively. we also work collectively to map out clear career paths to help ensure employee retention and to attract world-class talent interested in pursuing careers with our company. our success rate for promoting internal applicants for new positions within the company has approached 18 percent over recent years. our employee turnover rate is low, and average employee tenure is competitive with national benchmarks.

one example of how we are building our management team for the future is our robust program for hiring and training recent college graduates. specifically, for the past five years we have offered an innovative learning and development curriculum for new graduates called the olympus Fellows program. this program offers a two-year rotational series of positions designed to help us build a better tomorrow for our company and the world.

“Being part of the olympus Fellows program has given me signif-icant exposure to a variety of business settings. the rotational nature of the program has afforded me the unique early-career opportunity to acquire and develop new and important skills, interests and an in-depth understanding of olympus and its core businesses. in addition, the ability to work alongside prominent industry leaders, to manage and contribute to projects with important business implications, has been rewarding both profes-sionally and personally,” said a graduate of the 2008 Fellows program who is now in a full-time sales position.

“olympus people are driven to excellence,” said one neuro-scientist who is a long-time customer. “they reflect the corporation’s dedication to integrity, humanity and resourceful-ness. in their dealings with me, they truly put my science first, and they exhibit the values that are important to me. they have amazing optics and products, yes, but olympus brings even more to my lab through its people.”

employees

Building a Career at OlympusOur Employees: Intelligence, Integrity and Responsiveness

our dedication to the betterment of the world is at the core of everything we stand for.

Headquarters of Olympus Corporation of the Americas. Center Valley, Pa.

olympus’ commitment to social responsibility is the underpinning of everything we do, and our dedication to the betterment of the world is at the core of everything we stand for.

olympus strives to play an integral role in helping people around the world lead safer, healthier and more fulfilling lives. in addition to offering knowledge, expertise and world-renowned products, olympus employees go further to fulfill our corporate respon-sibility to our neighbors and the planet. we focus on a wide variety of important corporate initiatives including:

Colorectal Cancer Awareness colorectal cancer (crc) is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers, and is the second leading cancer killer in the United states for men and women combined. But this sad statistic does not have to be. in fact, if everyone aged 50 and older were regularly screened, experts say up to 60 percent of these deaths could be prevented. in most cases, colorectal cancer develops from abnormal growths called polyps in the colon or rectum. these can be removed before they turn into cancer; screening tests also can find colorectal cancer early, when it is most treatable. Because routine colorectal cancer screening saves lives, and because olympus is the leading endoscopy company, we continue to dedicate efforts toward crc awareness and education.

with numerous programs to inform employees, as well as customers and the public, about the importance of early detec-tion, olympus is committed to increasing colorectal cancer screening rates. we are especially proud of our collaboration with professional medical societies and numerous colorectal cancer organizations. By helping to educate, inform and create awareness about crc through direct consumer outreach online (www.crcawareness.com), various sponsorships, education, and more, we are helping to save lives.

EnvironmentalismProtecting our planet is a priority for olympus. in august 1992, the company established global environmental principles and set ambitious environmental protection goals. today, our standards encompass a wide range of activities targeting the re-establishment of a healthy environment and a society in which sustainable development is possible; we follow design standards to reduce the environmental load of our products as much as possible, and to date have launched a total of 190 olympus “eco-Products.” our manufacturing facilities use lead-free glass in the lenses we make, adhere to world-leading reduction of hazardous substances (rohs) standards, have vastly reduced disposable packaging, and demand company and supplier compliance with global environmental standards. fifteen of our research, development and manufacturing facili-ties worldwide are iso 14001-certified.

olympus also supports sound end-of-life management of our products, participating in the north american call2recycle program and other electronics recycling initiatives. in addition, we have adopted activities to promote co2 emission monitoring and reduction, along with waste minimization, and are currently working to reduce our total carbon footprint by 50 percent by the year 2020, from a 2007 baseline. in worldwide camera shipping operations, we’ve moved to bring more freight via ocean rather than air, to reduce emissions. the company’s new headquarters for the americas, located in center valley in eastern Pennsylvania, incorporates numerous U.s. green Building council’s Leadership in energy and environmental design (Leed) principles, and many of our facilities across the americas have instituted day-in, day-out green habits from carpooling to the use of high-efficiency lighting.

corporate social responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility Helping to Make the World a Better Place

corporate social responsibility

Education and Professional Trainingour support of medical training has made it possible for doctors to bring the latest life-saving procedures to people throughout the americas. venezuelan urologist dr. rene sotelo noguera trains about 50 Latin american physicians each year in the basics of Less surgery. “Many of those we train are going to areas where it is extremely difficult to get care. olympus is helping us by supporting training programs that will bring modern, less invasive surgery to the region, changing the face of healthcare in Latin america.”

olympus also sponsors scores of laboratory and microscopy education workshops and meetings. olympus University® courses allow healthcare professionals to earn continuing education credits and certifications. industrial tech tour seminars offer the chance to learn about the latest research into microscope inspection and measurement methodologies. for people who want to shoot better pictures, the online Learn center offers web-based information, tips and knowledge to help everyone from novice photographers to experienced shooters get the most from their photos.

Helping Doctors Help Peopleolympus has long supported doctors in providing healthcare services to underserved populations, helping people enjoy better health and quality of life. our support of the interna-tional organisation Mondiale d’endoscopie digestive (world organization of digestive endoscopy) through donations of endoscopes to centers in underserved areas has allowed doctors to bring enhanced screening and treatment to thousands of people who otherwise would not receive adequate care. in addition, we support dozens of initiatives to promote local health around the world. for instance, in canada’s arctic village of aklavik, where an alarming number of people were dying of stomach cancer, we supported physician robert Bailey, Md, with an endoscopy team and extensive equipment to help him and fellow physicians examine half of the village’s 600 inhabitants. they found that a large proportion of residents tested positive for a bacterium called H. pylori, which has been linked to stomach cancer. those who tested positive were treated and are being monitored with regular endoscopy to follow their progress. “olympus works together with us to do the best for our patients across the country,” dr. Bailey said. “they educate us and help us provide the best medical care. that’s not an everyday thing.”

Volunteerismolympus encourages its employees to become involved in local, regional and global efforts to better the world – as individ-uals and in teams. on regularly scheduled volunteer days, hundreds of olympus employees pour into local communities in organized groups to work on projects that benefit schools, neighborhoods, food banks, wildlife conservation, homeless shelters, animal rescue efforts, home-building projects, and much more. we also support the causes important to our employees and provide 100 percent matching to their chari-table donations and philanthropic contributions.

Raising Awarenessolympus products can also help people appreciate the wonders of nature and the interconnectedness of mankind. in the U.s., olympus supports the national Park service’s “air web camera” initiative. olympus cameras capture images at national parks every 15 minutes, helping people appreciate the beauty of our parks and learn more about air quality issues. olympus and the national Park service encourage people to experience the nation’s extraordinary parks and federal recreation lands, taking only pictures and preserving the parks’ majestic beauty for future generations to enjoy.

olympus is also the product of choice of many individuals whose work helps us appreciate the earth and its delicate plant and animal ecosystems. renowned photographer John isaac, olympus visionary and former photographer for the U.n., has traveled the world documenting the human condi-tion. recently, he has turned his attention to the endangered tigers of asia, choosing olympus equipment to make his extraordinary photos. “it is my hope that by capturing these tigers’ image, their essence through images, i can call attention to our need to approach animals and all of nature differently – not to use and dominate them, but to view them as our partners on this very fragile vessel of planet earth,” said the award-winning photographer.

olympus cameras are used in space, and have also been selected by leading photojournalists to document the essential humanity of all people. for instance, olympus provided all cameras used for the acclaimed photo book A Day in the Life of Africa, donating all proceeds from the book to the africa aids education fund.

recently, john isaac has turned his attention to the endangered tigers of asia, choosing olympus equipment to make his extraordinary photos.

Photo by: John Isaac, Olympus Visionary.

For more than 90 years, Olympus has served its customers with breakthrough products and services, and

we are proud of this legacy of excellence. But as satisfying as these contributions have been up to now,

we are looking toward a collective future that is even brighter. Whether it is the promise of new medical

techniques, laboratory breakthroughs, manufacturing methodologies, or camera features, we strive to bring

innovation, efficiency and integrity to everything we do, helping everyone we come in contact with to do

more, see more, enjoy more and achieve more.

Back in 1919, at our founding, we could not have dreamed of doing major surgery through tiny

laparoscopic openings, sending a camera into space, seeing the dynamic inner workings of life as they

happen or examining the intricate interior of an aircraft engine. But today, we are in all these places and

more, working to add value with everything we do in the world.

Though our future has yet to be explored, there are some things we already know. Much as images are

woven into the fabric of our lives, Olympus will always infuse its work with a profound sense of purpose.

Because we focus on humanity, we listen to our customers, business partners and employees, constantly

striving to refine and enhance what we do. Our parallel goals will always be to offer world-leading

innovation, and to earn your trust each day.

Sincerely,

F. Mark Gumz

President and CEO

Olympus Corporation of the Americas

a Message froM ManageMent

Karl Watanabe

Executive Vice President and CFO

Olympus Corporation of the Americas

Olympus is a precision technology leader, designing and delivering innovative

solutions in its core business areas: Cameras and Audio,

Industrial Testing Instruments, Life Science Imaging Systems and Medical and Surgical Products.

Our focus is on enhancing people’s

lives every day. We are a company committed to

helping people enjoy the continuum of life.

Our relationship with our shareholders, customers, employees

and business partners is at the center of everything we do.

© 2009 Olympus Corporation of the Americas. All rights reserved. OLYMPUS and all other trademarks listed herein are trademarks or

registered trademarks of Olympus Corporation, Olympus Corporation of the Americas and/or their affiliated entities.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed without the express written permission of Olympus Corporation of the Americas.

All images captured using Olympus equipment.