- Menicon takes another step to global expansion by vertical integration -

NAGOYA, Japan, March 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Menicon Co., Ltd. announced on March 17 that it had acquired all shares of Tomey Co., Ltd. from Tomey Shoji Inc. The deal was completed on February 1, 2010.

Tomey Co. is a major Japan-based manufacturer of contact lens care solutions, soft contact lenses, and RGP materials, and has been in operation since 1971. Tomey Co. has been the contracted supplier to Menicon Co., Ltd. of contact lens care solutions, and the exclusive supplier of Menicon monthly replacement soft contact lenses, and latheable RGP and soft lens materials including Menicon Z, Menicon EX, Menisoft and Menicon Soft 72. This acquisition enables Menicon to control completely the manufacture of its lens and lens care products, and will strengthen the company's competitiveness in Japan as well as in the global markets.

Tomey Co. will be renamed MeniconNect. A former director of Tomey Co., Hirofumi Minamikawa, was appointed to lead MeniconNect as its President, with Tokiyasu Tsuchida of Menicon named Executive Vice President of MeniconNect. Together, they will form a new management team to steer the company as one of the Menicon group companies. All former Tomey Co. employees will remain in MeniconNect and the manufacturing facilities will stay as they are.

"Menicon is very pleased to complete, through this acquisition, the vertical integration of manufacturing and material procurement into operation. Having complete control of manufacturing operations will help us provide even better products and services, and excellent value to all our customers in Japan and around the world. This will certainly help us accelerate our global business expansion," commented Dr. Hidenari Tanaka, President of Menicon Co.

About Menicon:

Menicon Co., Ltd. (www.menicon.com), founded by Kyoichi Tanaka in 1951, is Japan's first and largest contact lens manufacturer, and now is represented in over 30 countries. Menicon is a manufacturer dedicated to all areas of soft and GP contact lens-related businesses including material development, lens designing, and manufacturing of contact lenses and care solutions. Menicon is a world leader in the development of hyper-Dk GP (Menicon Z) and soft contact lenses (Menicon PremiO).

SOURCE Menicon Co., Ltd.

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