TRUMPF acquires micro-optics manufacturer

Ditzingen, June 24, 2019 – Through its subsidiary INGENERIC, the high-technology company TRUMPF is taking over Aixtooling GmbH, a tool manufacturer for precision optics, with effect from July 1, 2019, thereby expanding its production technologies in the manufacture of micro-optics. Aixtooling, founded in 2005 as a spin-off of the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (IPT), develops and produces high-precision pressing tools for precision molding. This process enables production of optics with diverse geometries and glass materials used, for instance, in laser and medical technology, camera lenses, and also components for autonomous driving. In the precision molding process, glass blanks are shaped between two half molds; the method is especially suitable for optics with complex geometries, such as those used in laser technology. Producing these tools is Aixtooling's core competence. The company, with around 40 employees, has its head office in Aachen. It has been agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

"Aixtooling is an innovative company and technology leader in the area of precision molding. Together we can pool and enhance our expertise, further optimizing the process," says Lutz Aschke, responsible for the transaction at TRUMPF. The TRUMPF subsidiary INGENERIC, based in Aachen, is the leading supplier of micro-optics for applications in the field of high-power diode lasers and data transfer. "Precision molding is a core technology for producing our optics, and tool manufacturing for this procedure is an important part of the process chain," explains Stefan Hambuecker, who runs the business at INGENERIC together with Olaf Rübenach. "We are convinced that bundling the expertise of INGENERIC with our know-how is an important step in meeting the challenges of the optical market in the future as well. We are looking forward to the cooperation," says Aixtooling CEO Bernd Bresseler.
 

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