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SpatialNews Press Release
Kodak Forms Global Imaging Business to Offer Information Derived
from Images; Kodak Acquires Earth Image Processing Businesses from Groupe Hauts-Monts
Inc.
ROCHESTER, N.Y., March 27, 2001--Eastman Kodak Company announced today that it has
formed a business called Kodak Global Imaging (KGI), which will offer information derived from earth images to
commercial customers such as telecommunications firms and insurance companies for faster, more effective decision-making.
KGI will be a division of Kodak's Commercial & Government Systems unit.
To support this new business initiative, Kodak also announced today the acquisition of the earth image processing, GIS
and mapping businesses of Groupe Hauts-Monts Inc., a privately held provider of earth imagery products and related
services. Headquartered in Beauport, Quebec, Canada, Groupe Hauts-Monts is a leader in remote sensing imagery
services, supplying GIS services, as well as mapping products and services - including image scanning, ortho-rectifying, and
automated image storage - to business customers worldwide. Excluded from the acquisition is Group Hauts-Monts' aerial
image capture business, which it will continue to own and operate. The acquisition will extend Kodak's participation in the
market for information extracted from earth imagery. According to the research firm Frost & Sullivan, this market is growing
10 percent annually and will reach $6.5 billion by 2005.
By combining imagery of the earth with Kodak's proprietary analysis and visualization software and tools, KGI will have
the ability to provide information to enable telecommunications companies to more effectively position cell towers and to
help insurance companies assess natural disasters. The technology also applies to such industries as real estate, natural
resources exploration, fiber optics, architecture and Internet information providers. By using this Kodak technology,
companies will be able to generate more revenue and expand markets at a lower cost than they incur today.
"Kodak is using its heritage as a leading provider of remote sensing products and services to go further into the image
information business," said Carl Marchetto, President of Commercial & Government Systems and a senior vice president of
the corporation. "By combining the power of images with information technology, we will allow customers to gather more
information more quickly, make decisions faster, reduce costs and boost revenue."
As an example of the KGI business, Marchetto cited Kodak's ability to blend an image with proprietary software and
tools to render a three-dimensional image of a city to aid in the routing of emergency vehicles or in the placement of cellular
communication equipment. Information on KGI products and services can be found on line at
http://www.kodak.com/go/earthimaging. Kodak's C&GS unit will demonstrate the capabilities of KGI and its entire range of
products and services at the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, April 9-12.
"In this example, Kodak technology will help telecommunications companies reduce their equipment placement cost while
helping to ensure the best coverage in populated geographies," Marchetto said. "The power of combining images and the
appropriate information will help business customers make better buying and investment decisions regarding their properties
on a global basis."
About Kodak's Commercial & Government Systems
Kodak's Commercial & Government Systems unit provides innovative image information solutions for business and
government market needs. This includes aerial imaging products, digital imaging systems for commercial imaging satellites,
image database, optical systems for land and space telescopes, small molded glass and plastic optics, remote-sensing
imaging services, image and data analysis software, and custom image information solutions.
About Infoimaging
The new business from C&GS reflects Kodak's participation in the emergence of infoimaging, the moment when pictures
become information. Infoimaging is a $225 billion industry created by the accelerated convergence of image science and
information technology. Infoimaging unites three image-centric markets - services and media, infrastructure and devices -
enabling consumers and businesses to more easily use images as a fast and effective way to communicate. Infoimaging
presents significant new revenue opportunities for any company that delivers value through the marriage of information and
images.
More info at www.kodak.com
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