SCHOTT AG
German specialty-glass and glass-ceramics manufacturer serving industrial, scientific, consumer, pharmaceutical, and optical markets.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
SCHOTT AG is a German multinational manufacturer of specialty glass, glass-ceramics, optical materials, and related components. The company is headquartered in Mainz and is wholly owned by the Carl Zeiss Foundation. Its historical identity is closely associated with Otto Schott, whose work in glass chemistry helped establish borosilicate glass as an important technical material. SCHOTT’s products are used where ordinary glass is insufficient, including applications requiring resistance to heat, chemical attack, thermal shock, dimensional change, optical distortion, or demanding manufacturing tolerances. The company began in Jena in 1884 as the Glastechnische Laboratorium Schott & Genossen, founded by Otto Schott together with physicist Ernst Abbe, precision-instrument maker Carl Zeiss, and Roderich Zeiss. Its early work focused on optical glass for microscopes and telescopes. The laboratory subsequently developed a broad range of technical glasses, including borosilicate formulations used in thermometers, laboratory equipment, gas lamps, and pharmaceutical tubing. Around 1908, SCHOTT began producing glass tubing, and in 1918 it introduced heat-resistant household glassware under the Jenaer Glas brand. During the interwar period, the business diversified through acquisitions, process modernization, and design collaborations. It worked with figures associated with the Bauhaus movement, including Walter Gropius, Gerhard Marcks, Wilhelm Wagenfeld, and László Moholy-Nagy. Products such as the Sintrax coffee machine and Jenaer Glas householdware helped connect technical glass production with modernist consumer design. The company also expanded through acquisitions of glassworks in Zwiesel, Pirna, and Grünenplan. The company was divided after the Second World War as Germany became politically separated. The Jena operation was expropriated in 1948 and became a state-owned enterprise in East Germany, later associated with VEB Carl Zeiss Jena. The western operation continued in Mainz as Jenaer Glaswerk Schott & Gen. Over subsequent decades, the Mainz-based business developed into an international specialty-glass group, while the eastern enterprise followed a separate industrial path. After German reunification, the Mainz company assumed the Jena company’s shares and continued the SCHOTT corporate development. SCHOTT’s portfolio expanded beyond optical and laboratory glass into television components, fiber optics, glass-ceramic cooktops, telescope mirror substrates, solar-thermal receiver tubes, pharmaceutical packaging, semiconductor materials, and precision optical products. Its Ceran glass-ceramic panels are used in electric, gas, and induction cooktops. Zerodur glass-ceramic is valued for extremely low thermal expansion and has been used in astronomical telescope mirrors and other precision applications. The company also supplies products for electronics, semiconductors, life sciences, automotive systems, aerospace, astronomy, and home appliances. SCHOTT entered solar technology in the early 2000s, developing photovoltaic and concentrated-solar-power activities. The solar business included photovoltaic manufacturing and solar receiver tubes, but the group withdrew from solar in 2012 after announcing the closure of its Albuquerque facility and dissolving SCHOTT Solar AG. The company subsequently concentrated on its core specialty-glass and advanced-materials activities. In 2004, SCHOTT Glas became legally independent from its sister company Carl Zeiss and was converted into SCHOTT AG. The Carl Zeiss Foundation remained the sole shareholder. Because the foundation’s governing arrangements do not permit the sale of its shares, SCHOTT is not structured as a conventional publicly traded company. Its current business spans production and sales operations across Europe, North America, and Asia. The company’s modern positioning is that of a technology-focused materials supplier rather than a mass-market glassmaker, with value derived…
History
SCHOTT AG traces its origins to the glass-chemistry research of Otto Schott in the 1870s. His work attracted Ernst Abbe and Carl Zeiss, whose optical and scientific interests required increasingly specialized glass. In 1884, Otto Schott, Ernst Abbe, Carl Zeiss, and Roderich Zeiss established the Glastechnische Laboratorium Schott & Genossen in Jena. The laboratory initially made optical glass for microscopes and telescopes, but its research soon broadened into heat-resistant, chemically resistant, and optically controlled materials. One of the company’s most consequential developments was borosilicate glass, which tolerates substantial temperature changes and resists many chemicals. These properties enabled applications in thermometers, laboratory vessels, gas lamps, and pharmaceutical packaging. SCHOTT began producing glass tubing around 1908 and introduced heat-resistant household products under the Jenaer Glas brand in 1918. By 1919, the business had grown to more than 1,200 employees. That year Otto Schott transferred his shares to the Carl Zeiss Foundation, making the enterprise a foundation-owned company. The 1920s and 1930s brought expansion, acquisitions, and cooperation with modernist designers. Erich Schott, Otto Schott’s son, assumed management in 1927. The company acquired glassworks in Zwiesel and Pirna between 1927 and 1929 and acquired Deutsche Spiegelglas AG in Grünenplan in 1930. It also collaborated with members of the Bauhaus circle. Walter Gropius proposed cooperation on household glassware, Gerhard Marcks designed the Sintrax coffee machine, and Wilhelm Wagenfeld created tableware and baking products. László Moholy-Nagy participated in the marketing of Jenaer Glas until 1937. The Second World War and Germany’s subsequent division fundamentally altered the company. The Jena factory was expropriated in 1948 and converted into the East German state enterprise VEB Jenaer Glaswerk, later integrated into the VEB Carl Zeiss Jena collective. The western business continued in Mainz as Jenaer Glaswerk Schott & Gen. The two operations developed separately: the eastern enterprise served the industrial system of the Eastern Bloc, while the Mainz company built an international network and expanded its specialty-glass portfolio. In the postwar decades, the Mainz-based operation moved into television-tube components, optical fibers, image and light conductors, precision optics, and large mirror substrates. It also developed glass-ceramic cooktop panels, entering serial production in 1973. Further applications included glass tubing for solar-thermal systems and specialized components for electronics and scientific instruments. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification, the Mainz organization assumed the shares of the former Jena business and continued the integration of the SCHOTT identity. SCHOTT Glas became a broad technology group in the late twentieth century. It expanded its international footprint and reorganized its legal structure in 2004, becoming the independent SCHOTT AG. The Carl Zeiss Foundation remained the sole shareholder, preserving the company’s foundation ownership and removing the prospect of a conventional public share offering under the foundation’s governing rules. The group entered solar technology in 2001 and established SCHOTT Solar GmbH in 2005, later renamed SCHOTT Solar AG. It planned large-scale photovoltaic-cell and module capacity and operated solar manufacturing in Germany and the United States. In 2009, it opened a major Albuquerque facility for solar receivers and photovoltaic modules. Difficult conditions in the solar market led to the closure of that site in 2012 and the eventual dissolution of SCHOTT Solar AG. SCHOTT thereafter refocused on specialty glass, glass-ceramics, pharmaceuticals, optics, electronics, semiconductors, life sciences, automotive, aerospace, and astronomy. Today, SCHOTT’s Mainz headquarters anchors a global production and sales network. The company’s products range from CERAN cooktop panels and ZERODUR low-expansion glass-ceramic to pharmaceutical containers, optical filters, semiconductor components, ultra-thin cover glass, and telescope mirror substrates. Its business model is based on proprietary materials science, precision manufacturing, and long-term supply relationships in sectors where performance and reliability are more important than commodity volume.
- 2025
Torsten Derr becomes CEO
[1]Torsten Derr succeeded Frank Heinricht as chief executive in January 2025.
- 2012
Solar business discontinued
[1]SCHOTT announced the closure of its Albuquerque plant and withdrew from the solar business.
- 2009
Albuquerque solar facility inaugurated
[1]SCHOTT opened a large US solar-manufacturing facility producing solar receivers and photovoltaic modules.
- 2004
SCHOTT AG established as an independent company
[1]The company became a legally independent Aktiengesellschaft while remaining wholly owned by the Carl Zeiss Foundation.
- 2001
Solar-technology activities begin
[1]SCHOTT entered the solar industry, later developing photovoltaic and concentrated-solar-power operations.
- 1973
Glass-ceramic cooktop panels enter serial production
[1]SCHOTT began serial production of glass-ceramic panels for cooking appliances.
- 1948
Jena operation expropriated
[1]The Jena factory became the state-owned VEB Jenaer Glaswerk in East Germany, separating it from the Mainz operation.
- 1930
Sintrax coffee machine enters production
[1]SCHOTT began producing the Sintrax coffee machine, designed by Gerhard Marcks.
- 1927
Erich Schott assumes management
[1]Erich Schott took over management and led diversification, acquisitions, and manufacturing modernization.
- 1919
Carl Zeiss Foundation becomes shareholder
[1]Otto Schott transferred his shares to the Carl Zeiss Foundation, establishing the foundation-owned structure.
Products and positioning
A science- and engineering-led specialty-materials company focused on high-performance glass, glass-ceramics, and components for demanding industrial, scientific, healthcare, consumer, and optical applications.
Glass-ceramic cooking surfaces
CERAN
CERAN is SCHOTT’s glass-ceramic platform for cooking appliances. Its panels are used in electric, gas, and induction cooktops, where resistance to thermal shock, repeated heating cycles, and surface wear is required. The material combines a glass-like appearance with controlled thermal properties and supports appliance designs ranging from conventional radiant cooking surfaces to modern induction systems.
Low-expansion glass-ceramic
ZERODUR
ZERODUR is a glass-ceramic engineered for extremely low thermal expansion. Its dimensional stability makes it suitable for precision applications, including astronomical telescope mirror substrates, microlithography equipment, and metrology systems. SCHOTT materials based on this platform have been used in major observatories and other installations where temperature-related deformation could compromise optical or mechanical accuracy.
Household glassware · 1918
Jenaer Glas
Jenaer Glas is the historic SCHOTT household-glass brand introduced for heat-resistant borosilicate products. Its development connected technical glass chemistry with modernist product design. The range historically included cookware, baking dishes, coffee equipment, tea services, and other household items, including designs associated with Bauhaus-era collaborators.
Healthcare packaging
Pharmaceutical packaging
SCHOTT produces pharmaceutical packaging and delivery components through its pharmaceutical activities. Products include vials, ampoules, cartridges, syringes, and glass tubing. These products are designed for containment, protection, sterilization, and compatibility with pharmaceutical manufacturing processes, including applications involving injectable medicines and other sensitive formulations.
Optics
Optical glass and precision components
SCHOTT supplies optical glass, filters, and precision components for digital imaging, laser optics, machine vision, metrology, scientific instruments, and other photonics applications. The portfolio builds on the company’s original optical-glass expertise and is aimed at customers requiring controlled transmission, refractive properties, filtering, thermal behavior, and manufacturing consistency.
Industrial and electronic materials
Specialty glass for electronics and semiconductors
SCHOTT develops glass and related components for electronics, semiconductor manufacturing, consumer devices, and advanced display applications. The company’s activities include flat glass, glass wafers, ultra-thin and flexible cover glass, and components used in demanding processing environments. These materials are selected for controlled mechanical, thermal, chemical, optical, and electrical characteristics.
Solar-thermal components
Solar receiver tubes
During its solar-industry period, SCHOTT manufactured receiver tubes for concentrated solar-thermal power plants. The tubes formed part of parabolic-trough systems and were designed to transmit concentrated solar energy to a heat-transfer medium. SCHOTT later exited the solar business, so this line is historical rather than a current core offering.
Marketing campaigns
- Bauhaus design collaborations
Germany · Europe
SCHOTT collaborated with designers and artists associated with the Bauhaus movement on household glassware and related product presentation. The work helped position Jenaer Glas as both technically advanced and aligned with modernist industrial design.
Outcome. Contributed to the historical design identity of Jenaer Glas.
Brand decisions
2025
Chief executive successionOtherBackground
Frank Heinricht’s tenure as chief executive ended after leading SCHOTT from 2013 through 2024.
Action taken
Torsten Derr assumed the CEO position in January 2025.
Aftermath
The leadership transition continued SCHOTT’s management under its foundation-owned corporate structure.
2012
Exit from solar activitiesStrategyBackground
SCHOTT had developed photovoltaic manufacturing and concentrated-solar-power components, including operations in the United States.
Action taken
The company closed its Albuquerque solar facility, phased out photovoltaic manufacturing, and withdrew from the solar business.
Aftermath
SCHOTT Solar AG was dissolved and the group refocused on specialty glass, glass-ceramics, pharmaceuticals, optics, electronics, and other core activities.
2004
Legal separation from Carl ZeissStrategyBackground
SCHOTT Glas had operated within the broader Carl Zeiss-related corporate structure but was reorganized as an independent Aktiengesellschaft.
Action taken
The company became SCHOTT AG while the Carl Zeiss Foundation retained all shares.
Aftermath
The reorganization gave SCHOTT independent legal status without creating a public shareholding structure.
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