History
A Historical Perspective
The pioneers and visionaries of the survey world – Our development
The origins of Leica Geosystems date back nearly 200 years, with the founding of Kern & Co. in 1819. A little over one hundred years later, in a small empty textile mill in Heerbrugg, Heinrich Wild was busy developing the T2, the world's first truly portable opto-mechanical theodolite, and therewith, building the foundation of modern surveying. A few years later, the fledgling start-up company, Wild Heerbrugg, introduced the world's first aerial camera, the C2, along with the B2, the world's first analogue photogrammetric plotter. Over the last two centuries, our company, in its various forms, has grown by becoming the world's first in surveying innovation. A thirst for innovation, combined with a keen sense of entrepreneurship and an unwavering dedication to quality, has kept Heinrich Wild's vision alive throughout the decades.
| 2005 |
Acquisition by Hexagon AB, Sweden |
| 2004 | Divestment of remaining 25% interest in Swissoptics and Escatec (Wiltronics) |
| 2003 | Divestment of Vectronix (defense activities) Divestment of 75% of Wiltronics AG Acquisition of Tritronics Pty in Brisbane, Australia |
| 2001 | Acquisition of Laser Alignment, Inc., Grand Rapids, MI, USA Acquisition of Cyra Technologies Inc., San Ramon, CA, USA Acquisition of ERDAS, Inc., Atlanta, GA, USA Acquisition of remaining 50% of LH Systems, San Diego, CA, USA Restructuring of organization into six operating divisions Divestment of 75% interest of SwissOptics to Berliner Glas AG |
| 2000 | IPO of Leica Geosystems (LGSN) on Swiss Stock Exchange |
| 1998 | Leveraged management buy-out of Leica Geosystems with Investcorp |
| 1997 | Leica Group split into Leica Microsystems and Leica Geosystems. Hans Hess becomes President of Leica Geosystems |
| 1996 | IPO of Leica Camera (Solms, Germany) on Frankfurt Stock Exchange |
| 1994 | Acquisition of civilian GPS businesses from Magnavox |
| 1990 | Merger with Cambridge Instruments (Microscopy business) Formation of the Leica Group |
| 1988 | Acquisition of Kern & Co. |
| 1986 | Formation of the Wild Leitz Group |
| 1986 | Acquisition of Leitz Wetzlar (including Leica Camera business) |
| 1921 | Foundation of Wild Heerbrugg in Heerbrugg, Switzerland |
| 1819 | Kern and Co. founded in Aarau, Switzerland |
The link below will lead you to a virtual archive showing many historical images of instruments of WILD HEERBRUGG AG. Please note that this is not a Leica Geosystems webpage.
http://www.wild-heerbrugg.com
http://www.wild-heerbrugg.com
History Poster
Innovation for more than 80 years:
Milestones in the development of precision instruments.
Our entire history in one big wallpaper poster!
Contact Leica Geosystems
Find your Leica Geosystems contact for sales, support and technical service.