PHOTOGRAMMETRIC PRODUCTS FROM LEICA 
A Stewart Walker 
Leica Aarau AG 
CH—5001 Aarau, Switzerland 
ABSTRACT 
The creation of Leica pic following a merger between Wild Leitz 
Holding AG and The Cambridge Instrument Company pic has major 
implications for the photogrammetric community. This paper 
summarises the events leading to this new company and outlines its 
objectives, philosophy and structure. Finally, a review is given 
of the photogrammetric product lines of the concern, emphasising 
developments which have taken place since the Congress in Kyoto. 
1 INTRODUCTION 
On 2 April 1990 the Leica Public Limited Company was formed. 
Registered in England, the new concern is managed from St Gallen 
in Switzerland. Its shares are traded on the London Stock 
Exchange. This powerful new concern will have a profound 
influence on the photogrammetric world and the purpose of this 
paper is threefold: to give an outline of the events which led to 
the formation of the new concern; to explain the objectives, 
philosophy and structure of the concern, so that readers 
understand clearly where and how the sales and support of 
photogrammetric products are organised; and to list the 
photogrammetric product lines and highlight developments which are 
fresh since the XVI International Congress of Photogrammetry in 
Kyoto in 1988. 
Readers are familiar with the merger of Wild and Leitz which took 
place in the 1970s, culminating in the change of name to Wild 
Leitz. More crucial to photogrammetrists, however, was the 
assumption of a controlling interest in Kern and Co AG in 1988. 
Even as plans were implemented to merge the photogrammetric 
efforts of the Aarau and Heerbrugg factories, however, 
negotiations were afoot to form an even bigger and more 
influential group. Spurred by numerous commercial factors, 
including the requirements to trade successfully in the European 
Community and to have available the massive resources necessary to 
develop new products in the fiercely competitive, systems oriented 
world of precision optics, mechanics and electronics 
("mechoptronics"), the concern has been created to take advantage 
of personnel, manufacturing facilities and sales organisations in 
a host of countries. 
The Leica Public Limited Company, for which the term "Leica" will 
be used here, is eponymous with its product line associated with