Re: [Leica] outsourcing components

[LEICAMAN56@aol.com]

This is an interesting argument about assembling and manufacturing.  Leitz 
and Leica have been outsourcing components for their cameras and lenses for 
many years.  In fact, I don't believe Leitz ever made much of their own 
glass, except for very small batches made in the glass research lab.  Marc 
and Erwin can fill in the blanks here. This goes all the way back to the 
beginning of the Leica in 1925.  Schott, Corning and now Hoya are some of the 
sources.  Outsourcing of the M chassis has been going on since at least the 
M4 and possibly earlier.  Strip down an M camera and you will see the marking 
of the supplier.  Walt, what say you?  Over the years, Leitz and then Leica 
has done less manufacturing in house in Germany.  On my first visit to the 
assembly halls at Leitz in 1972, I saw many more people working on the 
assembly of M5's than I ever did 20+ years later on M6's.  They even had two 
blind people at the end of the line doing QC by listening to the sound the 
camera made to check proper adjustment of the shutter speeds!  Keep in mind 
that the M5 almost sank the company and Leitz lost money on every one sold.  
Remember the Leitz factories in Canada and then Portugal?  What do you think 
they do there?  Well, if you can't guess, they manufacture subassemblies and 
partly assemble components for cameras, lenses, binoculars, spotting scopes, 
etc.  Here's another fact; the CLS shutter used in the R3 was made by Copal 
for Leitz.  CLS stood for Copal Leitz Shutter.  Developed by Leitz, 
manufactured by Copal.
Yes, Leica does grind and polish lens elements in Solms.  They center the 
lens assemblies there.  They coat the elements and cement them there. They 
assemble lenses and cameras in Solms too.  Final adjustments to Leica 
tolerances are done here.  They do final QC and put them into the white boxes 
in Solms also.  But there are no machine tools to manufacture the metal 
components used in camera and lens manufacture.  This is all done elsewhere, 
maybe Portugal and possibly elsewhere.  I have been visiting Wetzlar and 
Solms every few years for the past 27 years.  I know what I have seen with my 
own eyes.
Pop the hood of any "quality" German car today.  You will see numerous 
components made by Lucas (Prince of Darkness), Bosch, Girling, Getrag, Teves, 
ATE, Bilstein, Boge, ZF, and on and on and on.  Are they not BMW's, MB's, 
Audis, VW's?  Or like the old Keebler cookie ads, perhaps you believe in 
elves in hollow trees, not factories?

Bill Rosauer