NewsVIAOPTIC Stories

The campus at Leitz-Park in Wetzlar is a meeting space and a unique place of inspiration. Above all, however, it is also home to specialists who work in areas of the highest precision.

The Wetzlarer Neue Zeitung currently presents these specialists in a mini-series.

Read more about VIAOPTIC and our sister company Uwe Weller Feinwerktechnik in the article "Präzision ist ihre Stärke" (German version). Download

Over the past 100 years, polymers have replaced a wide variety of materials in many areas of life.

The article "Glasklare Vorteile in vielen Anwendungen" in the recently published issue of the magazine K-Profi looks at how plastics compete with glass.

VIAOPTIC also plays a role: In an interview with Managing Director Bernhard Willnauer, the article shows the advantages and possibilities offered by plastics in optics, the challenges that still exist and the future trends that are emerging in this area. Worth reading!

Here you can find the article.

Innovations in the various areas of optical manufacturing will once again be the focus of this year's Wetzlar Autumn Meeting. The anniversary event offers an international conference program, an accompanying exhibition and a variety of networking opportunities.

In the context of the lecture "High temperature resistant antireflection coatings on plastic optics" Bernhard Willnauer, Managing Director of VIAOPTIC, will highlight different processes for antireflective coating of optical plastics and present innovative solutions.

Meet us on September 29 and 30, 2020 at Wetzlar Town Hall!

Microoptics play a crucial role in today's world. Innovative applications in the automotive, sensor, medical and consumer electronics sectors can often only be realized with the help of highly miniaturized optical components.

The online version of the "Photonics Hub Symposium - Microoptics 2020" on April 28, 2020 will bring together participants from industry and research for an intensive exchange.

Bernhard Willnauer, Managing Director of VIAOPTIC, will give an overview of the manufacturing processes, achievable tolerances, the fields of application of plastic microoptics and their limitations in his lecture "Possibilities and limits of plastic microoptics".

From 18 to 21 November 2019, VIAOPTIC presented itself to the international audience at the leading trade fair for the medical technology supplier market in Düsseldorf.

At the joint IVAM pavilion, our experts informed trade visitors about precision optics and customized solutions for surgical and diagnostic lamps as well as for a wide range of diagnostic and laboratory analysis applications. At the accompanying COMPAMED HIGH-TECH FORUM by IVAM Philipp Neuhaus showed the specific requirements for the production of components for medical devices in the context of his expert lecture "Challenges at process validation of optical injection molded parts". "The trade fair provided us with an excellent opportunity to gain an overview of the trends in medical technology and to talk to international customers and suppliers," said CEO Bernhard Willnauer.

Almost 800 exhibitors from 41 nations met product developers and top decision-makers from the medical technology industry at the COMPAMED, which took place parallel to MEDICA. The next COMPAMED will take place in November 2020.

From September 23rd until 25th 2019, the leading heads of the industry met in Darmstadt at the ISAL 2019 for the most important conference in the field of automotive lighting technology to present their latest research results and developments.

As a supplier of components for lighting applications for the automotive industry, VIAOPTIC presented its high-precision polymer optics, its expertise in optic design and antireflection-coated components.

CEO Bernhard Willnauer drew a very positive conclusion. VIAOPTIC was able to take many interesting impulses from Darmstadt. With regard to future challenges such as communication between autonomous vehicles, the improvement of driving comfort and traffic safety through adaptive high beam or light projections onto the road, VIAOPTIC sees itself positioned very well. "The fact that VIAOPTIC’s innovative and sophisticated high-performance products meet the high demands of our customers has been confirmed in Darmstadt once again,” said Willnauer.

The ISAL is organized by the Laboratory of Lighting Technology of the TU Darmstadt and takes place every two years. It is a meeting place for around 1000 international designers, engineers, scientists and decision-makers.

It is tradition for a long time already. Also this year VIAOPTIC took part in one of the largest sports event in Middle Hessen. 13 running-enthusiastic colleagues joined this event and run the two-kilometer circuit through the old town of Wetzlar in fine summer weather. In the end, the VIAOPTIC teams were happy about a total managed number of 28 laps. The success was celebrated with a dinner.

“We are always looking forward to being part of this event,” says Bernhard Willnauer, CEO of VIAOPTIC. “The Brückenlauf offers a great team experience – and it’s a great feeling to work together for a good cause”.

A total of 3900 runners from companies, clubs, schools and authorities in the region competed in the 20th Wetzlarer Brückenlauf. This year, the entry fees raised an amount of 2715 €, which will be donated to a Dance Project at the Fröbel School.

After VIAOPTIC GmbH had already implemented an environmental management system in accordance with EMAS in 2015, the company was also certified in accordance with the internationally valid environmental standard DIN EN ISO 14001 a year later. This standard specifies the requirements for an environmental management system with which organizations can improve their environmental performance, fulfill legal obligations and achieve their own environmental goals.

On 18 June 2019, the successful recertification audit took place in Wetzlar; at the same time, the updated environmental statement according to EMAS was presented.

As part of the audit, the company demonstrated the independent environmental verifier the measures taken to achieve continuous improvement in environmental performance. For example, by investing in new injection molding machines, the pump control was significantly optimized, resulting in energy savings of 20 percent. An investment in the optimization of the compressed air system has an even better effect: 27 percent electricity could be saved by installing a new compressor with a controlled electric motor.

But also the waste management concept, which has been effective since 2017, shows a positive effect: Due to the disciplined waste separation behavior of the employees, a separate collection rate of nearly 90 percent was achieved in 2018. Compared to 2017, the amount of the residual waste thus has been decreased by 300 percent.

“We work daily on reducing the environmental impacts from our company and our products. To be successful, the contribution of the employees is most important. The responsible and active participation of our team makes us proud,” say Bernhard Willnauer and Uwe Bommersheim, Managing Directors of VIAOPTIC.

The new certificate is valid until July 2022. In combination with the environmental statement it transparently shows the environment-oriented corporate culture of VIAOPTIC GmbH to its employees, customers, business partners and the public.

Already for the 24th time the LASER World of PHOTONICS took place in Munich from June 24 to 27, 2019. In conversation with our experts, the international trade audience was given a detailed overview of the variable and diverse application possibilities of gold-coated polymer optics and their special performance in the field of IR laser applications. In addition, the focus was on black and IR transparent plastic covers. Which solutions VIAOPTIC offers for challenges such as anti-scratch, anti-fingerprint or surfaces with a heating function, aroused the interest of the trade visitors.

Intensive discussions, the lively exchange with existing and future partners and the networking at the joint booth of OptecNet Deutschland e. V. made the fair a great success for VIAOPTIC.

"We are delighted about four extremely successful days at the fair and have once again firmly planned our participation", commented Bernhard Willnauer, CEO of VIAOPTIC.

The next LASER World of PHOTONICS will take place in June 2021.

Am 04. September 2018 unterzeichnete VIAOPTIC die Charta zur "Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Pflege" im Haus der Wirtschaft in Frankfurt am Main. Mit der Unterzeichnung schließt sich die VIAOPTIC dem hessischen Ministerium für Soziales und Integration an und signalisiert ihre Bereitschaft, Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter mit pflegebedürftigen Familienangehörigen zu unterstützen und zu entlasten.
Die Vereinbarung steht als Fundament für eine zeitgemäße Organisations- und Unternehmenskultur.