DAYTON, OH, Mar. 07, 2003 -- Scitex Digital Printing opened its annual international conference recognizing the milestones in the 35-year history of the company and the inventors who hold over 400 patents worldwide. While the annual conference emphasizes strategic objectives for the company, Nachum "Homi" Shamir, president and CEO, opened the conference with a special unveiling of two permanent exhibits that reflect the company's rich history of technology development. Scitex Digital Printing employees and community leaders gathered in the lobby of its Dayton, OH, headquarters and research and manufacturing facility to dedicate the company's Timeline Wall and Inventors' Hall, the latter recognizing the outstanding contributions of the patent holders within Scitex Digital Printing. Scitex Digital Printing conducts business in over 40 countries with regional offices in Dayton, Ohio; St Prex, Switzerland; Tokyo, Japan; and Singapore. Since its first patent in 1971, Scitex Digital Printing has averaged nearly a patent a month for developments in a wide range of digital printing related technologies, including continuous inkjet, inks, paper handling, document scanners, color printing and data handling. The majority of the patents have been awarded in the United States with many foreign patents as well. The theme of the conference, Soaring to New Heights, ties into Dayton's year-long Inventing Flight celebration of the 100th anniversary of powered flight, a connection that Shamir acknowledged in his opening remarks. "Like our city, we have a special history that 'continues the tradition of innovation.' I am proud of the accomplishments of the individual patent holders and the collective efforts over our 35-year history and honored to make these exhibits a permanent part of our headquarters. To have any patents is an accomplishment by any company, but to have over 400 is especially impressive when measured in number per revenue dollars. Our patent portfolio clearly shows that Scitex Digital Printing continues to be an innovator in providing quality printing solutions to its customers. "Our growth in digital printing technology and as an international business has really been amazing," continued Shamir. "From the first inkjet demonstration in a lab to the over 9000 system installations worldwide is a story that has been long overdue in telling." The two exhibits include an Inventors' Hall that lists the 400 worldwide patents and includes photographs of current employees and the Timeline Wall that captures the company milestones from its beginning in 1967.