Company Story
1846 - Carl Zeiss founded the company as a one-man workshop in Jena, Germany.
1876 - Carl Zeiss's son, Roderich Zeiss, joined the company and helped expand the business.
1884 - The company developed its first microscope, the 'Stand I'.
1907 - The company was renamed Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH.
1922 - The company developed its first optical lens for cinematography.
1945 - The company's Jena facility was destroyed during World War II.
1949 - The company was re-established in Oberkochen, West Germany.
1962 - The company developed its first laser-based medical instrument.
1990 - The company was re-established in Jena, Germany after German reunification.
2002 - The company was renamed Carl Zeiss Meditec AG and went public with an IPO.
2011 - The company acquired Advanced Optometrics, Inc. to expand its ophthalmology business.