Carestream Health Selected as Name for Successor to Kodak's Health Group

Carestream Health, Inc. is the new name for the independent company that will result from the sale of Eastman Kodak Co.'s Health Group (Rochester, NY, USA) to a subsidiary of Onex Corp. (Toronto, Canada). The multi-billion-dollar sale, expected to close in the first half of 2007, is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals.

After closing, Carestream Health, which will have more than 8,100 employees serving thousands of customers worldwide, will immediately become a stand-alone company, taking its place among the world's leading medical imaging and healthcare information technology (IT) businesses.

"As the Health Group moves toward the end of a long, successful chapter in its history, it now takes a major step toward a new beginning with the introduction of Carestream as its future company name,” said Robert M. Le Blanc, chairman of Carestream Health and managing director of Onex. "We look forward to making Carestream synonymous with quality, efficiency and integrity--hallmarks the Health Group and its proven product portfolio have represented over the decades.”

Whereas Carestream Health, Inc., will be the business's name in the United States, the name will differ somewhat by country to reflect local laws and practices. In the United Kingdom, for example, the business will be known as Carestream Health UK Limited. Moreover, in a few countries - Argentina, Brazil, China, and Mexico - the Carestream Health name will not be used initially for regulatory reasons. Regardless of these differences, no change will occur, worldwide, in the use of Carestream as a sub-brand for products and services.

The Health Group conducted an aggressive market survey in 2004 on a range of names and naming systems for potential sub-brands within its product family. Through this survey of nearly 600 professionals worldwide, including CEOs, CIOs, and radiology directors of leading healthcare facilities, Carestream emerged as the name of choice. Respondents felt that "Carestream” signified the Health Group's focus on products enabling "outstanding patient care” and superior "workflow efficiency.”

In 2005, the Health Group began using the Carestream name to identify a range of digital medical imaging and IT products. Moving forward, marketing and branding efforts will focus on enhancing the Carestream brand and on building Carestream Health's corporate identity.

Kodak's Health Group is a leading provider of medical and dental imaging systems and information technology systems; molecular imaging systems; and non-destructive testing products.



Related Links:
Kodak
Onex