Aug. 11--Logitech got its start as one of the first vendors of the computer mouse. Today the company has taken the mouse to the next level. Its cutting-edge model boasts an ergonomic grip, an advanced laser engine and hyper-fast scrolling.

Finding the cutting edge of computer peripherals has been a key to Logitech's success over its 26-year history. Today the company makes mice, keyboards, Web cameras, headphones, speakers, game controllers, headsets, game controllers, remote controls and more.

Vancouver plays heavily in those efforts. Logitech's audio division is based at 1499 S.E. Tech Center Place. It hosts research into computer speakers, iPod speakers, headsets for Voice over IP phone communication, and headphones for music listening.

Roots Stanford University computer science graduate students Daniel Borel of Switzerland and Pierluigi Zappacosta of Italy met in 1976 and began working together on software ventures. Five years later a third friend, Giacomo Marini, joined them, and the three founded Logitech.

The company started out in software development and consulting. but its founders had an opportunity to take an early computer mouse to market -- and jumped. In 1982, the P4 mouse cemented Logitech's role as a provider of computer peripherals.

In 1988, Logitech introduced a handheld scanner. In 1992, the company unveiled an early digital camera. And in 1994, it released its first joystick for PC games.

Logitech went public on the Nasdaq exchange in 1997.

Since then, Logitech has grown both internally and through acquisitions, including the 2001 purchase of Vancouver-based Labtec, which made Clark County the home base for Logitech's audio efforts.

Strategy "Over the past decade, while growing consistently, we have strived to develop into a larger company that can deliver and support sustained growth well into the future," Logitech executives wrote in their annual report to shareholders.

The company's core business is in PC navigation, notebook peripherals, Internet communications, gaming and communications. The company is also looking for opportunities to expand that core, both through acquisitions and internal development.

Results In fiscal 2007, Logitech reported its ninth consecutive year of double-digit sales growth. Earnings reached $2.07 billion, with gross margin of 34.3 percent. Net income has climbed from $30 million, in 2000, to $229.8 million.

Logitech is now part of the Nasdaq 100 index, ranked among the world's largest publicly traded companies.

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Story Source: The Columbian