mettler toledo is a global manufacturer and marketer of precision instruments for use in laboratory, industrial and food retailing applications. the company has strong worldwide leadership positions. a significant majority of our instrument sales are in segments in which we are the global leader. in addition to a broad product offering, we have one of the largest global sales and service organizations among precision instrument companies. we focus on the high value-added segments of our markets by providing innovative instruments that often integrate various technologies including application-specific solutions for customers. we design our instruments not only to gather valuable data but also to facilitate the processing and transfer of this data into customers' management information systems.