Press Release

With the Acquisition of GOM, ZEISS Furthers Its Goal of Technological Leadership in Industrial Metrology and Quality Assurance

Customers will benefit from combined Industrial Quality & Research portfolio

11 April 2019

OBERKOCHEN/Germany, BRAUNSCHWEIG/Germany | 11. April 2019 | Corporate News

ZEISS is expanding the industrial metrology and quality assurance portfolio of its Industrial Quality & Research segment by acquiring GOM, a leading provider of hardware and software for automated 3D coordinate measuring technology. Both ZEISS and GOM have enjoyed strong growth in the past years and proved successful on the market. The aim is to further strengthen this leading technological position together, especially in the area of optical digitization systems. The combination of existing products and solutions as well as joint innovations in the future will lay the foundation for shaping and entering new markets.

"Our growth strategy expressly mentions the targeted acquisition of highly innovative solutions, technologies and companies, which can reach their full potential as part of the ZEISS Group," says Dr. Michael Kaschke, President & CEO of ZEISS. "By acquiring GOM and thereby expanding our solutions portfolio, we are bolstering the leading position of our Industrial Quality & Research segment and will be able to offer even better solutions for our customers. This is entirely in keeping with our corporate strategy, which is focused on our customers' success."

Combining the ZEISS product portfolio with the optical 3D measuring technology from GOM has the potential to create new opportunities and expand market access for Industrial Quality & Research. GOM offers cutting-edge solutions for surface digitization, which will strengthen ZEISS in this area. Dr. Jochen Peter, Member of the ZEISS Executive Board and Head of the Industrial Quality & Research segment, explains: "With this acquisition, we are pursuing our goal of achieving a leading position in the area of surface measurement and digitization. Customers and users in both areas will benefit from the strengths of GOM and ZEISS in the areas of software and hardware."

"Being part of the ZEISS Group will open up new opportunities for GOM in the future, which will also positively impact the site in Braunschweig and our business partners. By pooling ZEISS and GOM's process and solutions know-how, we can tap into new customer segments and applications," says Dr. Detlef Winter, Managing Director of GOM.

GOM GmbH develops, produces and distributes software, machines and systems for industrial and automated 3D coordinate measuring technology and 3D testing. Founded in 1990, the company is headquartered in Braunschweig, Germany, and has a global workforce of about 600 people. Its customers include international companies from the automotive, aerospace and consumer goods industries as well as research institutions and universities. In fiscal year 2017/18, the company generated approximately 150 million euros in revenue.

Once the transaction has been completed, GOM will become part of the ZEISS Industrial Quality & Research segment (revenue in 2017/18: 1.549 billion euros). The legal form of the GOM companies in Germany and abroad will remain unchanged. The successful cooperation with the global sales partners will be continued. Subject to approval by the regulatory authorities, the transaction is due to be finalized in the first half of 2019. Both sides have agreed not to disclose the financial details of this transaction.

Further information

Press Contact Jörg Nitschke Group Spokesman

About ZEISS

ZEISS is an internationally leading technology enterprise operating in the optics and optoelectronics. In the previous fiscal year, the ZEISS Group generated annual revenue totaling more than 5.8 billion euros in its four segments Industrial Quality & Research, Medical Technology, Consumer Markets and Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology (status: 30 September 2018).

For its customers, ZEISS develops, produces and distributes highly innovative solutions for industrial metrology and quality assurance, microscopy solutions for the life sciences and materials research, and medical technology solutions for diagnostics and treatment in ophthalmology and microsurgery. The name ZEISS is also synonymous with the world's leading lithography optics, which are used by the chip industry to manufacture semiconductor components. There is global demand for trendsetting ZEISS brand products such as eyeglass lenses, camera lenses and binoculars.

With a portfolio aligned with future growth areas like digitalization, healthcare and Smart Production and a strong brand, ZEISS is shaping the future far beyond the optics and optoelectronics industries. The company's significant, sustainable investments in research and development lay the foundation for the success and continued expansion of ZEISS' technology and market leadership.

With approximately 30,000 employees, ZEISS is active globally in almost 50 countries with around 60 of its own sales and service companies, more than 30 production sites and around 25 development sites. Founded in 1846 in Jena, the company is headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany. The Carl Zeiss Foundation, one of the largest foundations in Germany committed to the promotion of science, is the sole owner of the holding company, Carl Zeiss AG

Further information at www.zeiss.com

  

ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions

ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions is a leading manufacturer of multidimensional metrology solutions. These include coordinate measuring machines, optical and multisensor systems, microscopy systems for industrial quality assurance as well as 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 portfolio. In addition, ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions offers a broad global spectrum of customer services with ZEISS Quality Excellence Centers close to its customers. The company is headquartered in Oberkochen. Production and development sites outside Germany are located in Minneapolis in the USA, Shanghai, China and Bangalore, India. ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions is part of the Industrial Quality & Research segment.