8-K

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                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

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                                    FORM 8-K

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                                 CURRENT REPORT
                       PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
                       THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

          Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): May 2, 2003


                                GSI LUMONICS INC.
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             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


                              New Brunswick, Canada
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                 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)


                  333-71449                     98-0110412
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          (Commission File Number)  (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)


                 39 Manning Road, Billerica, Massachusetts 01821
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          (Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)


                                 (978) 439-5511
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              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

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ITEM 5.  OTHER EVENTS.

         On May 2, 2003 GSI Lumonics Inc. (the Company) issued a press release
announcing that it has acquired the principal assets of the Encoder division of
Dynamics Research Corporation, for a purchase price of $3.3 million in cash.

         A copy of the press release is attached to this report as Exhibit 99.1.

ITEM 7.  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS.

         (a)      Financial Statements of Businesses Acquired.

                  Not required.

         (b)      Pro Forma Financial Information.

                  Not required.

         (c)      Exhibits.

                  99.1     Press Release issued May 2, 2003.

                                    SIGNATURE

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

                                    GSI LUMONICS INC.
                                    (Registrant)


Date:  May 6, 2003                  By:    /s/  Charles D. Winston
                                           Charles D. Winston,
                                           President and Chief Executive Officer

                                  EXHIBIT INDEX



        Exhibit No.             Description
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           99.1                 Press Release issued May 2, 2003.

EX-99.1

EXHIBIT 99.1

      GSI LUMONICS ANNOUNCES PRECISION MOTION CONTROL COMPONENTS ACQUISITION

BILLERICA, MASS. (MAY 2, 2003): GSI Lumonics Inc. (NASDAQ: GSLI and TSX: LSI)
has acquired the principal assets of the Encoder division of Dynamics Research
Corporation (DRC), located in Wilmington, Massachusetts.

The product lines acquired with the Encoder division have an annualized run rate
of sales of approximately US$6 to 7 million. The Encoder division assets were
acquired for US$3.3 million in cash, subject to adjustment, and the assumption
of certain liabilities. The integration of the Encoder division into GSI
Lumonics' Component Products Group in Billerica, Massachusetts is currently
scheduled for completion by the end of August, 2003.

Charles Winston, GSI Lumonics' Chief Executive Officer and President said, "This
acquisition is consistent with GSI Lumonics' stated strategy to acquire new
technologies and expand into new products complementary with its existing
markets. The addition of the Encoder division assets represents the addition of
technology and products that expand the Company's offering of precision motion
control components. It is currently expected that this acquisition will be
accretive to earnings in the fourth quarter of this year."

An optical encoder is a high-resolution, electro-mechanical feedback device that
is a critical part of a precision motion control system. Digital output from the
encoder provides real-time position feedback data to a motion control system's
electronics. In recent years, advances in microprocessor technology and
shrinking microelectronic geometries have stimulated demand for sensors, of
which encoders are a specific type. These products are found in aerospace,
automotive, medical instrumentation, semiconductor processing and factory
automation applications, as well as motion control sub-systems.

GSI Lumonics supplies precision motion control components, lasers and
laser-based advanced manufacturing systems to the global medical, semiconductor,
electronics, and industrial markets. GSI Lumonics' common shares are listed on
NASDAQ (GSLI) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (LSI). The Company's web site
address is http://www.gsilumonics.com/.

For more information:

         Victor Woolley
         GSI Lumonics Inc.
         978-439-5511
         Ext. 6135

Certain statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 (the Reform Act), Section 27A of the United States Securities
Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the United States Securities and Exchange Act of
1934. These forward-looking statements may relate to anticipated financial
performance, management's plans and objectives for future operations, business
prospects, outcome of regulatory proceedings, market conditions, tax issues and
other matters. All statements contained in this news release that do not relate
to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements,
and are generally identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe,"
"estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan" and "objective" and other similar
expressions. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking
statements contained in this news release. Such statements are based on
management's beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to
management and are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in condition,
significance, value and effect. Other risks include the fact that the Company's
sales have been and are expected to continue to be dependent upon customer
capital equipment expenditures, which are, in turn, affected by business cycles
in the markets served by those customers. Other factors include volatility in
the semiconductor industry, the risk of order delays and cancellations, the risk
of delays by customers in introducing their new products and market acceptance
of products incorporating subsystems supplied by the Company, similar risks to
the Company of delays in its new products, our ability to continue to reduce
costs and capital expenditures, our ability to focus R&D investment and other
risks detailed in reports and documents filed by the Company with the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission and with securities regulatory
authorities in Canada. Such risks, uncertainties and changes in condition,
significance, value and effect, many of which are beyond the Company's control,
could cause the Company's actual results and other future events to differ
materially from those anticipated. The Company does not, however, assume any
obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect actual results,
changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting such
forward-looking statements.