Organizational changes at Hoya Vision Care

Hoya Vision Care, a division of the Hoya Corporation, one of the main producers of top-quality ophthalmic lenses, has moved its central offices from Tokyo to Amsterdam. In fact since July 2005 all activities have been handled and controlled from the Dutch headquarters. By making this change, Hoya recognizes the great importance of the European market and its huge potential.

The headquarters were transferred under the direction of Gerald Bottero (46), the new Chairman of Hoya Vision Care since 1st June 2005. Bottero, who previously worked at the Hoya division in North America, will use his vast experience to further consolidate and develop Hoya Vision Care's position on the global market with particular attention to the European market.

In his new position as Chairman of Hoya Vision Care, Bottero clearly defined his idea of growth. 'We see huge potential for growth in the United States and in Europe, where we will focus more on the high-quality lens market' he said. 'We have also set up an excellent distribution network in Europe, which will be further optimized over the next few years. Strategic development of distribution has already been planned for the United States. We want to significantly increase our global market share which could also include new acquisitions'.

During financial year 2005 (1st April 2004 - 31st March 2005), Hoya Corporation's billings were 2.88 billion dollars (around 2.27 billion euros) which means an increase of 13.5% compared to the previous year. The Vision Care division contributed approximately one third of total billings. i>Business Week recently reported that the Hoya Corporation is one of the 100 best technological companies.