According to a recent report by Reuters, Carl Zeiss AG (referred to as Zeiss), the century-old optics giant, has opened its first Global Capability Center (GCC) in Bengaluru, India, and plans to double its local workforce to 5,000 employees over the next three years.
The employees added this time include not only the technical staff recruited for the global capability center but also those hired for Carl Zeiss's fifth manufacturing plant in India.The factory, which cost 30 billion rupees (approximately 2.57 billion yuan), will be operational in 2025.
Carl Zeiss General Manager Miguel Gonzalez Diaz stated that after the factory begins operations, it is expected to produce 260,000 lenses daily, six times the current production capacity in India.
This global capability center will mainlyResponsible for functions such as cloud computing, cybersecurity, and network operations, while also providing software development services for its medical technology subsidiary, Carl Zeiss Medical.
Carl Zeiss Medical was established in 2002, focusingProviding diagnostic equipment, therapeutic devices, implants, consumables, pharmaceuticals, and other products for fields such as ophthalmology and neurosurgery.
Moreover, Carl Zeiss has carried out sales and R&D activities in the Indian market, with expected revenue in the current fiscal year ending September 2025 reaching 22 billion rupees (approximately 1.6862 billion yuan), marking a 19% year-on-year increase.
In addition to the first global capability center, Carl Zeiss also established an innovation center in Bangalore, India in 2011 to promote localized innovation and better serve the local market. In 2019, it set up a cataract training center in Pune, India, further expanding its global service network.
Carl Zeiss Medical's layout in the medical field mainly focuses on ophthalmology and microsurgery. The company continuously expands its product line and market influence through acquisitions, R&D, and technological innovation.In the field of ophthalmology, Carl Zeiss Medical provides comprehensive diagnostic and treatment solutions for eye care, includingHigh-end equipment such as surgical microscopes, femtosecond lasers, phacoemulsification and vitrectomy machines, ophthalmic OCT, ultra-widefield fundus cameras, and biometers.In addition, the company has further consolidated its market position in the field of vitreoretinal surgery and expanded its share in the Chinese market by acquiring the Dutch Ophthalmic Research Center (D.O.R.C.).
In the field of microsurgery, Carl Zeiss Medical focuses on surgical microscopes and related equipment for neurosurgery, otolaryngology, spinal surgery, and dentistry. These devices, combined with advanced optical technology, support doctors in achieving better outcomes in complex surgeries.By observing the layout of Carl Zeiss Medical, it is not difficult to find that Carl Zeiss has been continuously expanding its market, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, such as China and India, by establishing research and development centers and production bases to strengthen its market presence. In addition, the company also enhances the efficiency and quality of medical services through digital transformation and intelligent solutions.Starting from 2021,China has become the largest single market for Carl Zeiss globally, as well as one of the most innovative, dynamic, and fastest-growing markets.In 2024, Carl Zeiss's largest Quality Excellence Center in China was completed in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, a global hub for electronics and high-end manufacturing. In the same July, the Carl Zeiss Suzhou R&D and Manufacturing Base, which was first established on purchased land in 2021, officially opened. The facility primarily produces advanced equipment, including industrial microscopes, research microscopes, surgical microscopes, precision online optical, and mechanical measuring instruments.At the conclusion of the 2024 CIIE, Maximilian Foerst, President and CEO of Carl Zeiss Greater China, stated: "In the past decade, Carl Zeiss China has achieved 25 times business growth. Today, the Chinese market has become the largest market for the Carl Zeiss Group globally."Therefore, the Chinese market is crucial to us. It is not only an important base for our product sales and manufacturing, but also an indispensable part of our global business. We have full confidence in the Chinese market and are committed to long-term investment here, including expanding localized production, enhancing R&D centers, and collaborating with local technology companies to establish strategic supply chain nodes and joint ventures, thereby strengthening our competitiveness in this key market."India Becomes a Hotspot for Investment in the Medical Field
And once again, looking back at the Indian medical market,The demand and supply of medical devices still have a huge gap, with the import rate reaching 75%-80%.This high dependency provides enormous market opportunities for multinational medical device companies, as they can meet local demand and reduce import reliance by establishing production bases in India. This has led many capital giants and medical device giants to continuously expand their presence in the Indian market.March 2024,GE HealthcareThe Indian subsidiary announced that it will invest approximately 80 billion rupees (about 6.93 billion yuan) in the next five years to enhance manufacturing capacity and localized R&D. Specific projects include building a new production base in Bangalore for manufacturing high-end medical devices such as Discovery IQ PET/CT products, Revolution Aspire CT, Revolution ACT, and MR breast scanning equipment, with plans to export to many countries and regions worldwide.January 2024,Siemens HealthineersA new MRI manufacturing plant has been set up in Bangalore, and it was announced that a collaborative laboratory for artificial intelligence in computational data science and precision medicine will be established locally. In addition, Siemens also plans to expand the production line in Bangalore and invest in building a new campus.In September this year,Intuitive MedicalA new global capability center has been established in Bangalore;OlympusPlans to establish a research and development and offshore development center (ODC) in Hyderabad, India, to fully leverage India's technical talent resources and further consolidate its leading position in the global medical technology field.MedtronicInvestment in the expansion project and innovation center in Hyderabad to enhance its R&D and production capabilities in the Indian market;PhilipsAn imaging system manufacturing plant has been set up near Pune to meet the market demands in India and surrounding regions.OMRONInvested in establishing its first medical device factory in Chennai, India, to expand its business in the South Asian market.The layout of these enterprises reflects the huge potential and attractiveness of India's medical device market, while also showing that international giants hope to reduce import dependence through localized production and better serve the local and global markets.In addition, India is one of the top 20 global medical device markets and the fourth largest in Asia, following Japan, China, and South Korea. By 2025, the size of India's medical device market is expected to reach 50 billion US dollars, with an annual compound growth rate as high as 31.66%. Moreover, with a population of over 1.32 billion and an increasingly aging population, the demand for high-quality medical equipment has been further driven.
