Exhibit 99.1

Press Release II-VI Incorporated 375 Saxonburg Boulevard Saxonburg, Pennsylvania 16056 Telephone (724) 352-4455

Release Date: October 23, 2008	Contact:	Craig A. Creaturo
		Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
		(724) 352-4455
		ccreaturo@ii-vi.com
		Homepage: www.ii-vi.com

II-VI INCORPORATED

ANNOUNCES SHARE REPURCHASE PROGRAM

PITTSBURGH, PA., October 23, 2008 — II-VI Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select: IIVI) announced today that its Board of Directors has authorized the Company to purchase up to 500,000 shares of its Common Stock, representing approximately 1.7% of the Company’s total outstanding shares. The purchases, which will be made in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions as permitted by Securities Exchange Act Rule 10b-18, could begin immediately and may occur from time to time in the future, and the Company may suspend or discontinue this purchase program at any time. Shares purchased by the Company will be retained as treasury stock and will be available for general corporate purposes. The Company expects the repurchase of shares to at least partially offset the dilutive effect of the issuance of shares from the Company’s stock option plan. The Company will finance the repurchases from cash-on-hand and amounts available under the Company’s existing credit facility.

Francis J. Kramer, president and chief executive officer of II-VI Incorporated said, “The Board’s decision to implement a new share repurchase program reflects their belief in the Company’s operational fundamentals and its desire to enhance shareholder value.”

II-VI Incorporated, a worldwide leader in engineered materials and components, is a vertically-integrated manufacturing company that creates and markets products for a diversified customer base including industrial manufacturing, military and aerospace, high-power electronics and telecommunications, and thermoelectric applications. Headquartered in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, with manufacturing, sales, and distribution facilities worldwide, the Company produces numerous crystalline compounds including zinc selenide for infrared laser optics, silicon carbide for high-power electronic and microwave applications, and bismuth telluride for thermoelectric coolers.

In the Company’s infrared optics business, II-VI Infrared manufactures optical and opto-electronic components for industrial laser and thermal imaging systems, and HIGHYAG Lasertechnologie GmbH (HIGHYAG) manufactures fiber-delivered beam transmission systems and processing tools for industrial lasers. In the Company’s near-infrared optics business, VLOC manufactures near-infrared and visible light products for industrial, scientific, military and medical instruments and laser gain materials and products for solid-state YAG and YLF lasers. In the Company’s military & materials business, Exotic Electro-Optics (EEO)

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II-VI Incorporated

October 23, 2008

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manufactures infrared products for military applications, and Pacific Rare Specialty Metals & Chemicals (PRM) produces and refines selenium and tellurium materials. In the Company’s Compound Semiconductor Group, the Wide Bandgap Materials (WBG) group manufactures and markets single crystal silicon carbide substrates for use in the solid-state lighting, wireless infrastructure, RF electronics and power switching industries; the Marlow Industries, Inc. subsidiary designs and manufactures thermoelectric cooling and power generation solutions for use in defense, space, photonics, telecommunications, medical, consumer and industrial markets; and, the Worldwide Materials Group (WMG) provides expertise in materials development, process development, and manufacturing scale up.

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on certain assumptions and contingencies that involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and relate to the Company’s performance on a going-forward basis. The forward-looking statements in this press release involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results, performance or trends to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements herein or in previous disclosures. The Company believes that all forward-looking statements made by it have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that management’s expectations, beliefs or projections as expressed in the forward-looking statements will actually occur or prove to be correct. In addition to general industry and economic conditions, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to: (i) the failure of any one or more of the assumptions stated above to prove to be correct; (ii) the risks relating to forward-looking statements and other “Risk Factors” discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2008; (iii) purchasing patterns from customers and end-users; (iv) timely release of new products, and acceptance of such new products by the market; (v) the introduction of new products by competitors and other competitive responses; and/or (vi) the Company’s ability to devise and execute strategies to respond to market conditions.

CONTACT: Craig A. Creaturo, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of II-VI Incorporated, 724-352-4455, or e-mail, ccreaturo@ii-vi.com.

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