Carl Zeiss Teams With Nanofilm for Nanotechnology

Optical and scientific instrument manufacturer <%+company%> (Oberkochen, Germany) has established a formal strategic alliance with Nanofilm (Valley View, OH), including a significant minority equity interest in that company. Nanofilm is pioneering the use of nanotechnology for applications in consumer, medical and industrial markets. Financial terms were not disclosed.

In addition to its minority interest in Nanofilm, Zeiss, as a development partner in certain Nanofilm products, will use a precision coating developed by Nanofilm as the foundation for a new generation of optical lenses. The coating, an ultra-thin polymeric film, provides plastic lens materials with the performance qualities of glass. "The coated lens will be available initially only in the consumer eyewear market through Carl Zeiss Optical (i.e. the consumer eyewear unit of Carl Zeiss, Inc.) and its licensees, but is expected to be eventually adopted by many of the business units of the Carl Zeiss organization,'' said Edward Greene, president of Carl Zeiss Optical.

As part of the equity arrangement, Carl Zeiss will establish a research facility at Nanofilm's headquarters in Valley View, Ohio, near Cleveland. Nanofilm in turn will establish a laboratory at the Zeiss facility in Aalen, Germany.

Edited by Kristin Lewotsky