A high-end manufacturing facility for semiconductor optics will be expanded at Jenoptik’s production campus in Jena. The photonics group will invest a sum in the low double-digit million euro range starting at the end of 2025.
On the expanded production areas, Jenoptik will manufacture sophisticated, high-quality optical components that are mainly used in the semiconductor equipment industry. Once preliminary planning will have been completed by the end of 2025 and the subsequent approvals and contracts been granted, the renovation of the currently vacant hall is scheduled to begin in summer 2026. Production in the new manufacturing environment is scheduled to start in the second half of 2027.
Jenoptik president and CEO Dr Stefan Traeger and Colette Boos-John, Thuringia’s Minister for Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Rural Areas, announced the planned investment on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, in Jena, Germany.
The comprehensive renovation is planned in two stages. First, an area of around 2,000 sqm will be modularly expanded and modernized, also with regard to energy efficiency, to accommodate the additional production capacity. An additional expansion in line with demand is possible depending on medium-term growth, particularly with customers in the semiconductor equipment industry, and taking into account the requirements for the global alignment of manufacturing capacities.
In addition to investing a low double-digit million euro sum in the expansion of space, investments in state-of-the-art machinery and infrastructure are planned, as well as the creation of around 50 new jobs with start of the production in the new environment.
In the future, the hall will offer state-of-the-art space for the production of high-end optics, which are an essential component of high-performance photonic modules and systems. In addition to growth, the investment will also enable an even stronger focus on modern value stream concepts. This will optimize material flows in optics component manufacturing, make processes more efficient and transparent—while maintaining the highest quality standards.
Jenoptik had opened a new high-tech factory in “Silicon Saxony” in Dresden in spring 2025 where micro-optics and sensors for the semiconductor equipment industry are being produced .
“With this investment in one of our core businesses, we are responding to the increasing demands of our customers in the growth area of semiconductor technology,” says Traeger. “Furthermore, the investment is a commitment to our main location in Jena, where we are part of a unique ecosystem in the photonics industry in which business, research institutes, and universities collaborate and important structures for suppliers, training, and qualified specialists are available.”
“The optics industry remains a growth sector for Thuringia,” said Minister of Economic Affairs Boos-John. “In view of the current economic sideways movement in Germany, it is a strong signal that Jenoptik is now also investing at its Thuringian headquarters. This demonstrates fundamental confidence in the location, which we must justify at the federal and state level by further improving the economic framework conditions.” The state will continue to closely monitor and support the positive development of one of its “flagship companies,” said the minister.
