Zeiss Builds First Factory in China With $25M Investment
Zeiss, a leading enterprise in the fields of optics and optoelectronics, on October 18 started construction of a new R&D and production base in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. This is the first time that Zeiss has purchased land and built its own project in the country, indicating the firm’s further deepening of business in the region.
In November last year, Zeiss signed a contract with local regulators in Suzhou Industrial Park to invest in setting up a new R&D and production base. With a total investment of $25 million, the new base will be introduced into the B&C global product center of the microscope division, some global production projects of an industrial measurement division, and the customer and solutions center of Greater China.
In addition, Zeiss’ medical division will add the production of Class II medical equipment, such as surgical microscope and ophthalmic diagnosis. The global procurement business of the Zeiss headquarters and various divisions will be expanded. In the future, the new base will introduce other business sectors of the group one after another.
At present, Zeiss’ business scope covers semiconductor manufacturing technology, medical technology, industrial quality and research, and optical products. 2022 is the 65th year since Zeiss first entered the Chinese market. It has enabled innovations in many fields such as medical treatment, manufacturing, scientific research and optometry by virtue of its technological advantages in the optical field. In the past few years, it has achieved a compound annual growth rate of nearly 20% in China. Today, China has become its largest strategic market in the world.
Zeiss has two major production bases in China – one around Shanghai and Suzhou in the Yangtze River Delta, which mainly produce equipment, and the other in Guangzhou, which produces lenses, including the newly established production base of intraocular lenses.
Zeiss became a strategic partner of Chinese smartphone manufacturer vivo in December 2020. Among the three generations of vivo phone models that have cooperated with Zeiss in the past two years, images have become the symbol of the most market recognition and competitiveness. Anti-shaking, lens coating, and other technologies have become a trend pursued by other smartphone manufacturers.
SEE ALSO: Vivo Unveils X80 Series, Two Chipset Options for X80 Pro
Vivo and Zeiss are not pursuing stylized color adjustments, but restoring original color more accurately, which not only tests the ability of optical components, but also has higher technical requirements for algorithms.
