Wetzlar, Germany, July 11, 2024 – Leica Microsystems, a leading manufacturer of microscopes and scientific instruments and solutions, celebrated its 175th anniversary with a ceremony in Wetzlar, Germany. Customers from leading scientific institutions, partners, and representatives of the Leitz family, government, and Danaher Corporation's executive team, including Danaher CEO, Rainer Blair, gathered in the city where the company was founded.
"As we celebrate 175 years of Leica microscopy, we honor our rich history and embrace our future. Under the Danaher umbrella, we are taking the spirit of innovation established by our founder, Ernst Leitz I, to the next level," said Dr. Annette Rinck, President and CEO of Leica Microsystems. "We have evolved into a global leader in enabling our customers to make informed decisions based on insights in the life science, medical and applied industries. Insights that come from advanced imaging and applications for context and data analytics.”
Back in 1849, Carl Kellner founded the Optical Institute in Wetzlar and introduced instruments with a new type of eyepiece. The Kellner eyepiece was the first in microscopy to deliver images of a higher quality with significantly reduced distortion and color fringing.
Ernst Leitz I took over the business in 1849, and since then, generations of the Leitz family have had a profound influence on the company. Within a few decades, the company became the world leader in the microscopy market. Close collaboration with customers around the world to develop innovations in accordance with the motto of Ernst Leitz I - "With the user, for the user" - has been a continuous success factor for the company. Users of Leitz instruments achieved fundamental breakthroughs in virology and bacteriology, among others, which have had a lasting impact on human life. Mergers with companies such as Cambridge Instruments, Reichert and Wild have proved significant in the history of Leica Microsystems.
Leica Microsystems shares its brand with Leica Camera, which is today an independent company. The invention of the Leica 35 mm camera is a part of the common history and has revolutionized the photography and has introduced the Leica brand to a broad public.
In 2005, Leica Microsystems joined the Danaher Group. Danaher is a leading global innovator that accelerates the power of science and technology to improve human health. Together with Danaher’s other businesses across Biotechnology, Diagnostics and Life Sciences, Leica Microsystems aims to unlock the transformative potential of cutting-edge science and technology to improve billions of lives every day.
A wide range of innovations have shaped the company's history and will continue to do so in the future. In 1967, for example, Leica introduced the first software-based quantitative image analysis. Today, quantitative image analysis plays an important role in scientific discovery and has received an additional boost from artificial intelligence. Another example of innovation is the use of stimulated emission depletion microscopy (STED) microscopy which has opened a new window for scientists around the world to understand biological processes with previously unimaginable optical resolution. In 2007, Leica Microsystems launched the first commercially available STED microscope, in collaboration with Stefan Hell, who in 2014 received the Nobel Prize for the invention of STED.
Current fields of innovation at Leica Microsystems include the use of artificial intelligence, which opens completely new possibilities for experimentation and analysis. Leica Microsystems is also at the forefront of new visualization possibilities for life-changing interventions in neurosurgery by enhancing digital images with augmented reality.
"Leica Microsystems is well positioned to play a leading role in microscopy and application solutions to meet the needs of our customers for centuries to come. Together with our users, we will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible for a healthier and safer world," added Dr. Annette Rinck. "Our anniversary comes at an exciting time as we continue to innovate and enable our customers to turn their research into cures, such as accelerating the development of therapies for cancer and rare diseases. With Danaher, one of the world's leading innovators in Life Sciences and Diagnostics, by our side, we are helping to shorten the time it takes to develop successful therapies and make them more accessible.”
During the event to celebrate 175 years of Leica microscopy in Wetzlar, Germany, Rainer Blair (CEO Danaher), Greg Milosevich (Vice President and Group Executive Life Sciences Innovation Group Danaher), and Annette Rinck (President Leica Microsystems) celebrate the cake cutting.
_________________________________________
About Leica Microsystems
Leica Microsystems develops and manufactures microscopes and scientific instruments and solutions for contextual analysis, helping to understand disease mechanisms in the life sciences, enabling surgeons to improve patient life in medicine, and improving quality assurance in applied industries. Ever since the company started as a family business in the nineteenth century, its instruments have been widely recognized for their optical precision and innovative technology. It is one of the market leaders in compound and stereo microscopy, digital microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy with related imaging systems, electron microscopy sample preparation, and surgical microscopes. Leica Microsystems is a subsidiary of Danaher, a leading global life sciences and diagnostics innovator, committed to accelerating the power of science and technology to improve human health.
