[Leica] Leitz Park Wetzlar for Mark

[henningw at archiphoto.com (Henning Wulff)]

At 12:59 AM +0100 11/12/07, Douglas Sharp wrote:
>Mark, you must have missed it, there was a whole 
>thread about the developments in Wetzlar quite a 
>while ago.
>Come to think of it, it was on LRFLEX not here.
>Cheers
>Douglas
>
>Here's what I wrote in early May of this year
>
>Information from the Giessen newspapers (15.02.07)
>
>Weller (precision engineering) has bought into 
>Zeiss-Hensoldt in Wetzlar with ACM (Kaufmann) 
>money.
>ACM (or perhaps Kaufmann in some other guise) is 
>now responsible for coating technologies and 
>prototype construction for Leica Microsystems 
>CMS.
>ACM has a major sharehold in Via Optik, a 
>leading producer of optical systems employing 
>plastics  and supplying the automotive industry 
>with sensors.
>ACM also has a large share capital in S?? (coatings) and Sensitec (sensors)
>
>The city of Wetzlar now mentions a 110,000 
>square meter site in the industrial park at 
>Spilburg close to the motorway exit Wetzlar 
>South/
>
>Whether this corresponds with the planning of a 
>centre for optical, precision engineering and 
>sensor technologies planned by ACM is not clear, 
>neither is the identity of the three companies 
>intending to relocate to this site.
>
>Report in March 2007
>
>The planned optical industrial park in Wetzlar is taking shape.
>The Leitz Park GmbH (ltd) confirmed that they 
>have now purchased the 13 hectare site 
>(Schanzenfeld), close to  Autobahn 45, from the 
>city of Wetzlar.
>It is possible that, in the future, the three 
>optical concerns Leica Camera AG, Via Optic GmbH 
>and Uwe Weller Feinwerktechnik GmbH may move to 
>the new site.
>The Salzburg based ACM holds shares in all three 
>companies, ACM already announced in February 
>that they intend to move Leica back to Wetzlar.
>
>A definitive announcement should have been made 
>in March according to Austrian newspapers. ACM 
>only confirms Weller and Via Optic as 
>"candidates " for the new site
>
>HR-online (Hessen Radio) also mentions that ACM 
>intends to build a Leica Museum on the site.
>

The three companies mentioned (Via Optik, Uwe 
Weller Feinmechanik and Leica Camera) are indeed 
moving to the Leica Park; Construction on the Via 
Optik facility is starting early next year, and 
within a year the other two will start, including 
also a Leica Welt display center. Dr. Kaufmann 
gave us the timetable and showed us renderings at 
the LHSA meeting. As soon as the Leica plant is 
finished, Leica will move out of Solms.

-- 
    *            Henning J. Wulff
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