GRINTECH GmbH invests in new company building on Jena21

The main product of Jena-based GRINTECH GmbH is smaller than 2 millimetres - but the company's history is a typical "big" success story in the local optics industry. Since the turn of the millennium, the medium-sized high-tech company has been developing innovative products in the field of micro-optics, which are in demand worldwide from companies, universities and research institutes. As there is no longer enough space in the "Eulenhaus" in Jena's city center - the current, rented company headquarters - the construction of a new production and office building on the municipal industrial estate Jena21 began in October.

New construction despite the acute pandemic - a challenge that Managing Director Dr. Torsten Poßner is happy to take on:

"We will achieve our sales target in 2020, which we defined before Corona. I am grateful for the commitment of all our employees, who have pulled together"

says Dr. Poßner. According to Dr. Poßner, the personal commitment to implementing the hygiene concepts, temporary time-shifted working and working from home have all meant that production has been able to continue at the previous year's level.

The typical "hidden champion" - i.e. a company that is primarily known in the industry as a market leader - was able to acquire new research and development projects in 2020, "which will demand increased efforts from us in the coming years," emphasizes Dr Bernhard Messerschmidt, also Managing Director at GRINTECH and responsible for research and development. The current 39 employees produce micro-optics and assemble them into miniaturized optical systems for use in optical sensor technology, biomedicine, endoscopy and telecommunications systems - applications that are in demand worldwide.

Further growth is reaching its limits in the current premises in Schillerstraße.

"Necessary investments in new machines and systems can no longer be made in the Eulenhaus, which is why we have been looking for a new location since 2017," adds Gritta Günther, who coordinates construction activities at GRINTECH. "We found the ideal conditions at Jena21 - a location close to the city, good connections to public transport and the freeway and the focus on optical technologies in the city's development of the business park."

Once all the construction work has been completed, there will be a total of around 2,500 square meters of new production and office space available - more than twice as much as at present. "The new building optimizes our entire production, we have more space for research and development, room for new machines and systems, attractive rooms for meetings with customers and cooperation partners and improved working conditions for the entire team," summarizes the GRINTECH managing director duo.

The search for the new location was supported from the outset by the Jena Economic Development Agency. Its head, Wilfried Röpke, is delighted with the company's clear commitment to Jena as an optics location:

"The development of GRINTECH GmbH is a typical Jena success story: started as a spin-off from the Fraunhofer Institute - and from there it has grown into an internationally renowned high-tech company."

According to Röpke, it is these "ambassador companies" that carry Jena's reputation as a city of light out into the world. To ensure that this remains the case, the city must continue to create optimal framework conditions.

GRINTECH has a positive outlook for the coming year: "Our goal is to move to the new location at Otto-Eppenstein-Strasse 7 in the fall of 2021 and thus lay the foundation for further long-term and sustainable growth for our company. And to create a place where the entire team has optimal working conditions and where creative collaboration is encouraged." The next milestone will be celebrated in spring, provided the pandemic situation and hygiene conditions allow: A proper topping-out ceremony, together with builders, the planners, the GRINTECH team and as many guests as possible.

Background information:

GRINTECH GmbH:

GRINTECH GmbH, based in Jena, manufactures micro-optics for medical and measurement technology: small lenses with diameters of less than 2 mm, and miniaturized optical systems built from them for applications in optical sensor technology (distance measurement with light), biomedicine (miniaturized lenses), endoscopy, laser diode beam shaping and telecommunications.

In addition to their small dimensions, the lenses are characterized by flat optical functional surfaces, which enable the simple assembly of complex lens systems. The optical effect of the lenses (beam deflection/refraction) results from a defined, continuous change in the composition (and thus the refractive index) of a cylindrical lens blank. This change is achieved by the targeted incorporation of silver ions (ion exchange = core technology of GRINTECH).

GRINTECH was founded in December 1999 and commenced operations at the turn of the millennium. The four founders had previously researched the manufacture of micro-optics at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering (IOF) in Jena. At the end of 2020, all four are still active in leading positions in the company. Micro-Epsilon, a family-run company from Bavaria and main customer in the field of optical sensor technology, is now also a shareholder.

The company currently employs 39 people, including two apprentices and two Master's students. The team includes specialists in physics, chemistry, engineering, precision optics, precision mechanics and administration.