Zeiss Ikon

Carl Zeiss AG

We make it visible
Type	Aktiengesellschaft
Industry	Imaging
Founded	Jena, Germany 1846; 171 years ago (1846)
Headquarters	Oberkochen, Germany
Key people	Dr. Michael Kaschke, CEO and President
Products	Precision binoculars, spotting scopes, telescopes, night vision equipment, laser-guided rangefinders, riflescopes, planetarium projectors and other optical equipment.
Revenue	€ 4.51 billion (2014/15)
Net income	EBIT € 369 million (2014/15)
Number of employees	24,946 (30 September 2015)
Website	www.zeiss.de

Carl Zeiss (German pronunciation: [ˌkaʁl ˈtsaɪs]) is a German manufacturer of optical systems, industrial measurements and medical devices, founded in Jena, Germany in 1846 by optician Carl Zeiss. Together with Ernst Abbe (joined 1866) and Otto Schott (joined 1884) they built a base for modern optics and manufacturing. There are currently two parts of the company, Carl Zeiss AG located in Oberkochen with important subsidiaries in Aalen, Göttingen and Munich, and Carl Zeiss GmbH located in Jena.

Carl Zeiss AG is the premier company of the Zeiss Gruppe, one of the two large divisions of the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung. The Zeiss Gruppe is located in Heidenheim and Jena. Also controlled by the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung are the glass manufacturers Schott AG and Jenaer Glas, located in Mainz and Jena respectively. Carl Zeiss is one of the oldest existing optics manufacturers in the world.

Carl Zeiss opened an optics workshop in Jena in 1846. By 1847 he was making microscopes full-time. By 1861 Zeiss was considered to be among the best scientific instrument makers in Germany with about 20 people working under him with his business still growing. By 1866 the Zeiss workshop sold their 1,000th microscope. In 1872 physicist Ernst Abbe joined Zeiss and along with Otto Schott designed greatly improved lenses for the optical instruments they were producing. After Carl Zeiss's death in 1888, the business was incorporated as the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung in 1889.