Structure
Since 2004, the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung has been a shareholding and funding institution. Our foundation companies are legally independent.
Until 2004, the foundation companies ZEISS and SCHOTT were a direct part of the Foundation and thus legally dependent. In the course of an extensive reform of the Foundation, the foundation companies were demerged from the Foundation in 2004 and transformed into legally independent joint-stock companies.
At the same time, the Foundation’s statute was fundamentally modernised without changing the principles and objectives of our founder and the spirit of our Foundation.
Our foundation companies
The Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung is the sole shareholder of the two foundation companies Carl Zeiss AG and SCHOTT AG.
Carl Zeiss AG, headquartered in Oberkochen, and SCHOTT AG, headquartered in Mainz, are among the best-known technology groups in Germany today. Their products are in demand worldwide.
Under the maxim that only those who are innovative can succeed economically, it is the vision of both companies to be at the forefront of international product development and advancement.
Thus, they represent the true spirit of Ernst Abbe, who had introduced the principle of “unity of research and production” at Zeiss in the 19th century to use the latest knowledge from science to improve Zeiss’s microscopes.
ZEISS
ZEISS is an internationally leading technology enterprise operating in the fields of optics and optoelectronics. The company has been shaping technological progress for 180 years and is constantly advancing the world of optics and related fields with its solutions. The broad portfolio of the ZEISS Group is divided into four future-oriented divisions: Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology, Industrial Quality & Research, Medical Technology and Consumer Markets. Founded in 1846 in Jena, the company is headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany. Carl Zeiss AG runs the ZEISS Group as a strategic management holding company.
SCHOTT
International technology group SCHOTT produces high-quality components and advanced materials, including specialty glass, glass-ceramics, and polymers. With a pioneering spirit, SCHOTT’s employees in over 30 countries work as partners across industries such as healthcare, home appliances, consumer electronics, semiconductors, optics, astronomy, energy, and aerospace. SCHOTT was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in Mainz, Germany.