OMRON and Bitron Industrie S.p.A. to Create Joint Venture Company in Europe

KYOTO, Japan and TORINO, Italy, Aug. 11, 2004 -- OMRON Corporation , a global leader in automation, sensing and control technology, and Bitron Industrie S.p.A. of Italy, have agreed to create an automotive relay joint venture company. The new company will be called OMRON Bitron Automotive Components S.r.l., to be established in Alatri, Italy in October 2004. Under the terms of the agreement, signed July 28th at Bitron headquarters in Torino, Italy, Bitron will transfer its automotive relay division to the joint venture company. OMRON Bitron Automotive Components S.r.l. will focus on the European market to produce and sell a complete line of automotive relays. OMRON will hold 75 percent of the new company, which will continue to produce the existing products and add new innovative technology to meet changing customer requirements.

There are two types of automotive relays -- plug-in relays to handle high current switching applications, and PCB (printed circuit board) relays, directly mounted on circuit boards used in smart switching applications. These products are used to control turn signals, windows, door locks, seats and various lighting applications.

OMRON Automotive Electronics UK Ltd., and its German development unit, IMS VISION GmbH., presently produce and sell European products that include PCB type relays and related electronic controls and switches, while Bitron has established production for plug-in type relays and modules.

"The combined use of plug-in and PCB relays is increasing in the European market and elsewhere, and OMRON hopes to integrate its resources with those of Bitron to expand sales in Europe, strengthening OMRON's automotive global presence," said Yukio Hattori, general manager of the Automotive Electronic Components Company Relay Division. "Present customers include many of the world's leading automakers and system suppliers that use this technology." The new company will increasingly enhance OMRON's global automotive relay and components business.

Bitron Industrie S.p.A., headquartered in Torino, Italy, is a global leader in electrical and electronics components for the appliance industry with very strong presence in the automotive industry. Bitron group has eight factories within Italy and four outside Italy. Bitron is presently one of the leading companies for plug-in type automotive relays in Europe, with a product lineup that includes micro ISO relays, mini ISO relays, glow plug relays and others. Customers include major automotive makers and automotive system suppliers. In addition to its relay business, to be acquired under the agreement with OMRON, Bitron also manufactures and sells different types of sensors, visible and hidden switches and other mechatronic components for automotive applications, which will remain unaffected.

About OMRON

Headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, OMRON Corporation is a global leader in the field of automation. Established in 1933 and headed by President and CEO Hisao Sakuta, OMRON has more than 23,000 employees in over 35 countries working to provide products and services to customers in a variety of fields including industrial automation, electronic components, social systems (ticket gate machines, ticket vending machines, cash dispensers, and traffic control), and healthcare. The company is divided into five regions and head offices are in Japan (Kyoto), Asia Pacific (Singapore), China (Shanghai), Europe (Amsterdam) and US (Chicago). For more information, visit OMRON's Web site at http://www.omron.com/