Hitschfel Instruments to Represent Olympus Industrial Microscopes in Parts of U.S. Midwest, Southeast

Olympus Continues to Grow and Strengthen Sales and Service Capability

CENTER VALLEY, Pa., June 8, 2010 – Olympus America Inc. continues to build its industrial instrument distribution network, naming Hitschfel Instruments, Inc., to handle distribution of Olympus industrial microscope products in central and southern Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and greater Memphis.

The largest and most advanced microscope sales organization in the region, Hitschfel has its headquarters offices, a warehouse, a service facility and a showroom in St. Louis; it also has satellite locations in Tulsa, Kansas City, Little Rock and Omaha.

“Hitschfel has long provided outstanding service to our bioscience customers in the region,” said Matt Smith, director of sales and marketing for Olympus America’s Scientific Equipment Group – Industrial Microscopes. “With its total focus on consultation, service and applications knowledge, Hitschfel can greatly benefit users in industrial research and manufacturing in this part of the country as well.”

“We are very pleased with this expansion of our relationship with Olympus,” said Günter Hitschfel, President and CEO of Hitschfel Instruments, Inc. “We have represented Olympus and its outstanding instruments for many years, and are proud to serve microscope and imaging systems users with a full line of the highest quality instruments and software available anywhere.”

In addition to expanding its distribution network with several new dealers this year, Olympus continues to grow in other ways. It has recently introduced a new flagship industrial product, the LEXT OLS4000® laser confocal microscope. Further, the company has built its existing nationwide support and service network with new personnel, features and enhanced availability and response times.

To contact Hitschfel Instruments, Inc., email info@hitschfel.com; phone (800) 242-3501 or visit www.hitschfel.com or www.olympusmicroscopes.com To contact Olympus America, email Matt Smith at: matt.smith@olympus.com or phone (484) 896-5300.

About Olympus Scientific Equipment Group – Industrial Microscopes
Olympus industrial microscopes and metrology systems play a leading role in precision R&D, engineering and manufacturing applications in fields as diverse as aerospace, the automotive industry, electronics, materials science/metallurgy, medical devices, photovoltaics, and semiconductors. Olympus continues to be a leader in optical design and advanced quality innovation. For more information, visit www.olympusamerica.com/industrialmicroscopes

About Olympus
Olympus is a precision technology leader, creating innovative opto-digital solutions in healthcare, life science and consumer electronics products.

Olympus works collaboratively with its customers and its affiliates worldwide to leverage R&D investment in precision technology and manufacturing processes across diverse business lines. These include:

· Gastrointestinal endoscopes, accessories, and minimally invasive surgical products;
· Advanced clinical and research microscopes;
· Digital cameras and voice recorders.

Olympus serves the healthcare field with integrated product solutions and financial, educational and consulting services that help customers to efficiently, reliably and more easily achieve exceptional results. Olympus develops breakthrough technologies with revolutionary product design and functionality for the consumer and professional photography markets, and also is the leader in gastrointestinal endoscopy and clinical and educational microscopes. For more information, visit www.olympusamerica.com

About Hitschfel
Hitschfel Instruments, Inc., based in St. Louis, Missouri, is the largest microscope dealer in its region of the US and has been in business since 1974. Hitschfel is an authorized Olympus dealer in central and southern Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and greater Memphis. Its staff has unsurpassed knowledge and experience in microscope imaging. Hitschfel approaches each application from a consulting perspective, helping determine imaging requirements, applying its extensive technical experience and providing customized solutions. For more information, visit www.hitschfel.com

Olympus and OLS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Olympus Corporation, Olympus America Inc., and/or their affiliates.