Press Release

With GUARDUS, ZEISS acquires a software supplier for analysis and management in production

24 April 2018

Oberkochen/Ulm, Germany | 24 April 2018 | Corporate News

ZEISS and GUARDUS have announced that the software solutions supplier for computer-supported quality assurance and production management systems based in the German city of Ulm has become a wholly owned subsidiary of the ZEISS Group.

For ZEISS, the integration of GUARDUS into its Industrial Metrology (IMT) business group will further strengthen its own position as a partner for increasing productivity in digital manufacturing. The Computer Aided Quality (CAQ) applications and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) from GUARDUS provide customers with a fully integrated analysis and steering function for production.

Simone Cronjäger, Founder and Managing Director of GUARDUS, and Dr. Jochen Peter, Member of the Executive Board of the ZEISS Group and President & CEO of Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik GmbH, announcing ZEISS' acquistion of GUARDUS.
The software solutions from GUARDUS provide decision intelligence for managing Smart Factories.

"With GUARDUS, we will enhance our software solutions like ZEISS PiWeb with a comprehensive database not previously available, enabling us to offer our customers even more holistic services. Together we are striving for a new level of integrated solutions for agile process management. We want to supply the foundation for automated control processes, learning systems and simulation methods for networked and intelligent quality assurance in the Smart Factory," says Dr. Jochen Peter, Member of the Executive Board of the ZEISS Group and President & CEO of Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik GmbH.

"We are convinced that, by being directly integrated in the ZEISS Group with its large installed base, GUARDUS will enjoy even better conditions for driving further developments and continued strong growth," says Simone Cronjäger, Company Founder and Managing Director of GUARDUS. She adds, "Integrating solutions from GUARDUS and thus all vertical and horizontal information processes will enable unprecedented decision intelligence – extending from the field and control levels all the way to the comprehensive process and plant management levels."

Initially, the joint customer focus will be on the automotive and engineering industries as well as medical technology. GUARDUS' existing sites in Ulm and Timisoara, Romania will be retained. For the approximately 60 employees, business operations will be transferred as per German legal provisions.

Further information:

Press contact Jörg Nitschke Head of Corporate Brand and Communications ZEISS Group

Press contact Bernd Balle Industrial Metrology

Press contact Simone Cronjäger GUARDUS Solutions AG

Press contact Monika Nyendick Press'n'Relations GmbH Ulm

About ZEISS

ZEISS is an internationally leading technology enterprise operating in the fields of optics and optoelectronics. The ZEISS Group develops, produces and distributes measuring technology, microscopes, medical technology, eyeglass lenses, camera and cinema lenses, binoculars and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. With its solutions, the company constantly advances the world of optics and helps shape technological progress. ZEISS is divided up into the four segments Research & Quality Technology, Medical Technology, Vision Care/Consumer Products and Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology. The ZEISS Group is represented in more than 40 countries and has over 50 sales and service locations, more than 30 manufacturing sites and about 25 research and development centers around the globe.

In fiscal year 2016/17 the company generated revenue approximating €5.3 billion with around 27,000 employees. Founded in 1846 in Jena, the company is headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany. Carl Zeiss AG is the strategic management holding company that manages the ZEISS Group. The company is wholly owned by the Carl Zeiss Stiftung (Carl Zeiss Foundation).

Further information at www.zeiss.com

Industrial Metrology

The Industrial Metrology business group is a leading manufacturer of multidimensional metrology solutions. These include coordinate measuring machines, optical and multisensor systems, and metrology software for the automotive, aircraft, mechanical engineering, plastics and medical technology industries. Innovative technologies such as 3D X-ray metrology for quality inspection round off the product portfolio. The business group additionally offers a broad global spectrum of customer services with measuring houses and competence centers close to its customers.

The Industrial Metrology business group is headquartered in Oberkochen. Production and development sites outside Germany are located in Minneapolis in the USA, Shanghai, China and Bangalore, India. The business group is allocated to the Research & Quality Technology segment. Around 6,300 employees work for the segment, generating revenue totaling €1.5 billion in fiscal year 2016/17.

GUARDUS Solutions AG

For 16 years, the name GUARDUS has stood for comprehensive quality and production management expertise in the field of industrial manufacturing. The GUARDUS Manufacturing Execution System (MES) from the system and software company based in Ulm, Germany and Timisoara, Romania is a key tool in Smart Production solutions worldwide. Over 160 global companies currently use the standard software solution as a core IT foundation for a sustainable shopfloor strategy. GUARDUS became a wholly owned subsidiary of the ZEISS Group on 24 April 2018. The entire team and the MES solution are now part of Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik GmbH (abbr. IMT).

Further information www.guardus-mes.de