Carl Zeiss has taken its ownership of Carl Zeiss Vision from 50 per cent to 100 per cent. That’s good news for Australia and particularly Adelaide where the Zeiss plant leads the company’s global vision research effort and now manufactures over three-quarters of this country’s Zeiss lenses.
Australia was the first country to integrate Carl Zeiss Vision into a Carl Zeiss AG subsidiary. Joe Redner, Australia’s Managing Director for Carl Zeiss Australasia said the strategic integration of both companies
makes sense.
“Optometry practices can now order medical devices and lenses through our one company, said Mr. Redner, noting that previously there had been confusion among customers over whether they should contact Carl Zeiss or Carl Zeiss Vision to place specific orders.
He said operating under one banner has enabled Zeiss to “create product packages” that will help practices purchase previously inaccessible equipment over time.
These investments strengthen local expertise and support for Australian and New Zealand customers
Mr. Redner said the multi-million dollar purchase also supports the Carl Zeiss portfolio. “It complements our strong Medical Technology business and serves as a stable counterbalance to our semi-conductor business,” he said.
Owned by the Carl Zeiss Foundation, the Carl Zeiss Group invests 10 per cent of its annual revenues back into research and development. Last year the company invested approximately 360m Euro into research and development and registered approximately 300 new patents.
By bringing Carl Zeiss Vision into the Carl Zeiss Group, the company has already benefited from long term investments which support accelerated developments in vision care technology and consumer products.
Its Adelaide research and engineering capabilities have been strengthened and a new global business unit, named Customer Enablement, established at the facility. Customer Enablement partners with customers to provide complete business and technical solutions including Freeform and AR technology, licenses to patents and proprietary process know-how.
These investments strengthen local expertise and support for Australian and New Zealand customers. “While we continue to source a small amount of product from our very modern global lab network, we made the decision to focus production in Australia because it enables us to provide better service for our customers and it minimises supply risks,” said Mr. Redner.
Mr. Redner said Zeiss will launch several new products into the Australasian market in the coming months. “We recently launched the iProfiler which is generating significant interest because of its ability to precisely measure higher order aberrations and support more precise, higher value solutions for patients. In October we’ll launch a completely new collection of progressive lenses, Office lenses and PhotoFusion (photochromic) lenses across all product lines. Zeiss is also developing and licensing patents to partners around the world that want to use our technology in their own laboratories.”
He said the integration of Zeiss Vision and Zeiss has generated new energy and excitement. “Around the world it means we’re now a truly global optical company.
In Australia it’s brought a lot of people together under one roof – as it has in New Zealand. Of course that has its challenges – legal entity consolidations, new systems and processes and so on, but the real positive is that both entities have customer focused cultures so in the end we’re all working together for our customers. Carl Zeiss has a 100 year history of innovation in the optical industry. We’re very proud of this tradition and believe this will be key to our ongoing success.”
