History of ZEISS subsidiaries

Fine Measuring department founded; first presentation of industrial production measuring technology from Carl Zeiss at the Leipzig Spring Fair; Schuchardt & Schütte distribute the instruments.

Jena initially occupied by American forces who take the leading employees to their zone. These employees establish a new company in Oberkochen, which later also carries the name Carl Zeiss. Jena becomes part of the Soviet occupation zone.

Rebranding: Fine Measuring becomes Industrial Metrology.

Acquisition of Numerex, an American manufacturer of bridge-type measuring machines in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Current production site of measuring machines for the USA and Asia.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Carl Zeiss in Oberkochen acquires parts of the former combine VEB Carl Zeiss Jena.

Carl Zeiss merges with Stiefelmeyer to supplement its own range of horizontal-arm measuring machines.

Carl Zeiss enters into a strategic alliance with TSK for surface-measuring instruments.

Founding of Carl Zeiss 3D Metrology Services GmbH together with 3D Control with the aim of offering joint metrology services.

The factory in Minneapolis doubles its assembly space when it moves to a new building.

The third production site for coordinate measuring machines after Oberkochen and Minneapolis opens in Shanghai.

Start of collaboration with Swedish ophthalmologist and later Nobel Prize winner Allvar Gullstrand.

Department for medical-optical devices (Med) and eyeglass lenses and glasses (Opto) founded

Jena initially occupied by American forces who take the leading employees to their zone. These employees establish a new company in Oberkochen, which later also carries the name Carl Zeiss. Jena becomes part of the Soviet occupation zone

After the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Carl Zeiss in Oberkochen acquires parts of the former Combine VEB Carl Zeiss Jena, including the Medical Instruments division.

The overlapping product lines at both locations are demerged:

• Oberkochen: OPMI and laser systems,
• Jena: ophthalmic diagnostic systems.
  

Acquisition of Humphrey Instruments in Dublin, California – manufacturer of ophthalmic systems for glaucoma diagnosis and refraction testing.

Carl Zeiss Meditec AG is created through the merger of the Ophthalmic Instruments division at Carl Zeiss and the firm Asclepion-Meditec AG

Acquisition of Laser Diagnostic Technologies, Inc. (LDT) in San Diego, California.

Acquisition of French intraocular lens manufacturer IOLTECH SA in La Rochelle

Acquisition of ophthalmic surgery specialist Acri.Tec GmbH in Hennigsdorf, Germany.

Carl Zeiss opens a workshop for precision mechanics and optics in Jena.

Simple microscope with doublet and triplet optics. Production of simple microscopes begins.

Carl Zeiss sells his first compound microscope.

Beginning of the partnership with Ernst Abbe.

Partnership between Zeiss, Abbe and Schott. Optical glass from Otto Schott (1851-1935) enables more effectively corrected microscope systems.

Beginning of TEM development by AEG. Carl Zeiss delivers inspection microscopes for the first TEM.

Cooperation for electron microscopy started by AEG and Carl Zeiss.

Jena initially occupied by American forces who take the leading employees to their zone. These employees establish a new company called Carl Zeiss in Oberkochen

Prof. Ernst Brüche founds the Süddeutschen Laboratorien Mosbach (SDL) and begins production of electron microscopes with electrostatic lenses.

Cooperation with SEMCO for development of SEMs (NovaSCAN).

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Carl Zeiss in Oberkochen acquires parts of the former combine VEB Carl Zeiss Jena. including microscopy. The activities in this field in Oberkochen and Jena are merged.

The activities of Carl Zeiss and Leica in the Electron Microscopy Technology are bundled in the 50/50 joint venture: LEO Electron Microscopy.

Rebranding: LEO Electron Microscopy becomes Carl Zeiss Nano Technology Systems GmbH (NTS), a Carl Zeiss SMT company.

The Microscopy business group at Carl Zeiss becomes Carl Zeiss MicroImaging GmbH and is headquartered in Jena

Acquisition of ALIS technology.

Carl Zeiss NTS GmbH and Carl Zeiss MicroImaging GmbH jointly form the new Carl Zeiss Microscopy business group.

Paul Rudolph designs the Planar lens, providing good anastigmatic field flattening and spherical and chromatic aberration correction at an initial aperture of f/4.

ZEISS supplies a lens for a circuit printer (precursor of the present-day wafer stepper and scanner) to AEG-Telefunken. It displays structures measuring 1.25 micrometers.

ZEISS delivers the first projection and illumination optical systems to Dutch company Philips (ASML, which is now a strategic partner of ZEISS, is later carved out of Philips).

Strategic partnership with Dutch wafer stepper and scanner producer ASM Lithography (ASML) begins.

The Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology business group of ZEISS is founded.

The Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology business group is subdivided into four independent companies: Carl Zeiss SMT (lithography optics and mirror blocks), Carl Zeiss Laser Optics (components for lithography lasers), Carl Zeiss SMS (supplier for systems for photomask quality assurance) and Carl Zeiss NTS (manufacturer of electron microscopes, today the Microscopy business group).

ASML and ZEISS jointly become world market leader in the area of wafer steppers and scanners and remain in this position until today.

Acquisition of NaWoTec.

Official inauguration of the new plant of Carl Zeiss SMT AG, the world's most advanced development and production center for lithography optics.

Acquisition of Pixer Technology (in Karmiel, Israel).

Start of collaboration with Swedish ophthalmologist and later Nobel Prize winner Allvar Gullstrand.

Moritz von Rohr calculates a point-focal imaging eyeglass lens which minimizes the blurring that occurs when looking through edge areas, thus laying the foundation for Punktal eyeglass lenses.

Coinciding with the launch of PUNKTAL®, the OPTO department is founded on 1 April, the predecessor to the current Carl Zeiss Vision. Start of volume production of ZEISS eyeglass lenses.

A state-run vocational school for eye care professionals is founded in Jena with ongoing financial support from the Carl Zeiss Foundation.

Jena is initially occupied by American forces who take the leading employees to the American Zone before Thuringia is handed over to the Soviet Union. These employees establish a new company in Oberkochen, which later also carries the name Carl Zeiss.

Relocation of eyeglass lens production from Oberkochen to Aalen.

Introduction of the"Z" trademark on all eyeglass lenses.

Acquisition of SOLA International Inc. Merger with the Eyeglass Lens Division to create Carl Zeiss Vision International GmbH (50 percent owned by Carl Zeiss, 50 percent by the EQT private equity fund).

Carl Zeiss Vision becomes a 100 percent subsidiary of Carl Zeiss AG.