Hymarc's Founder Forrest Livingstone Teams up with Metris

    LEUVEN, Belgium--April 3, 2003--The Founder and CEO of Hymarc, Mr. Forrest Livingstone, teams up with Metris as a consultant on technology and marketing challenges.
    Hymarc, the Canadian pioneer in 3D laser scanning for CMM's ceases its CMM laser scanning business. Without acquiring Hymarc nor its assets, Metris will cooperate with Mr. Forrest Livingstone to migrate interested customers from the Hymarc 3D laser scanning solution to the Metris laser scanning solution.

    Customer benefits

    Hymarc customers can take advantage of a special upgrade program offered by Metris to exchange the Hymarc laser sensor for a new Metris laser sensor. The Metris sensor is Renishaw PH10 compatible, integrated in its own user-friendly software and backed up by a broad worldwide Metris support team. Metris has a long-term commitment to the market of 3D laser scanning for CMM's.

    Partner benefits

    Distribution partners of Hymarc are offered a smooth and attractive transition to Metris.
    Mr. Forrest Livingstone, founder and CEO of Hymarc comments: "Being very proud on my pioneer role in the 3D laser scanning industry, I am happy to conclude my career with Metris, the market leader in 3D laser scanning for CMM's."
    "This collaboration will assist Hymarc customers who invested in 3D laser scanning in an early phase to upgrade to the new state of the art laser scanning technology offered by Metris," says Bart Van Coppenolle, CEO of Metris, "It shows the determination of Metris to underwrite the pointcloud revolution and to take the commitment towards the marketplace."
    "We have had a long cooperation with Mr. Livingstone over the past years and we made the change from Hymarc to Metris last year. We are glad to see this choice now confirmed by the collaboration between Mr. Livingstone and Metris," comments Giovanni Bono, product marketing manager at Brown & Sharpe DEA, a leading CMM manufacturer. "As part of the smooth transition process, we are offering our customers particular conditions, based on the special upgrade program offered by Metris, to move from Hymarc to Metris. "
    Mr. Karl-Heinz Boecker, Quality Assurance coach at Daimler-Chrysler Bremen: "Being a Hymarc customer as well as a Metris software user, we acquired two Metris sensors last year. I believe the collaboration between Metris and Mr. Livingstone is a benefit for all customers because it protects our investments in 3D laser scanning and pointcloud software over the past years."

    About Metris

    Metris provides total solutions for 3D digitizing, 3D inspection and reverse engineering targeting the design and manufacturing community and more specifically the automotive and aerospace industry.
    Metris started as a software company with a unique and challenging new paradigm for computer aided verification and inspection. By acquiring and leveraging a German laser scanning company in 1999, Metris moved into the unique position of being the only company providing a total solution including the digitizing hardware and application software. The Metris hardware portfolio consists of optical probes that digitize various sized objects using laser light. The software solutions comprise applications for optimized digitizing, quality inspection and reverse engineering with a focus on productivity, ease of use and accuracy. These capabilities enable users to optimize their processes, resulting in strategic competitive advantages such as shorter lead times, higher quality levels and lower production costs.
    Over the past few years, hundreds of customers from all over the world have chosen Metris, maturing the Metris product portfolio. Metris is a fully funded, profitable and fast growing technology company with a strong balance sheet, enabling accelerated growth through mergers and acquisitions. Metris has a clear M&A strategy adding value for Metris customers and shareholders.