Notes to Financial Statements

NOTE 1—Formation and Background
Fisher Scientific International Inc. ("Fisher" or the " Company") was incorporated in September 1991. The Company’s operations are conducted throughout North and South America, Europe, the Far East, the Middle East and Africa directly or through one or more subsidiaries, joint ventures, agents, or dealers. The Company is managed in three business segments: domestic distribution, international distribution, and laboratory workstations. The domestic and international distribution segments engage in the supply, marketing, service and manufacture of scientific, clinical, educational, and occupational health and safety products. The laboratory workstations segment manufactures laboratory workstations, fume hoods and enclosures for technology and communication centers.

Fisher provides more than 600,000 products and services for research and analytical testing, healthcare, science education and occupational safety in approximately 145 countries. The Company serves scientists engaged in biomedical, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, chemical and other fields of research and development, and is a supplier to clinical laboratories, hospitals, healthcare alliances, physicians’ offices, environmental testing centers, remediation companies, quality-control laboratories and many other customers. The Company’s largest supplier represents approximately 10% of 2000 sales.