The Rodenstock Group, headquartered in Munich, is a manufacturer of biometric lenses and a global leader in eye-health innovation. The company, founded by Thuringian Josef Rodenstock in 1877, has turned decades of research and development of intelligent technology into products that embody German engineering at its best.
Rodenstock is represented in more than 85 countries by sales subsidiaries and distribution partners and has production sites in Germany, the Czech Republic, Thailand, Chile, Spain, and Morocco. All Rodenstock products are designed and engineered in Germany.
The company has undergone several significant changes in recent years, including a change in management – in January 2023, Mr Marcus Desimoni was appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer, to succeed his predecessor, Anders Hedegaard, who Business Focus interviewed two years ago.
As the previous CFO, Mr Desimoni knows the company inside out and confirms that under his leadership, Rodenstock is set to continue to invest in research and development as well as its product portfolio, in order to further expand its leadership position in biometric lenses.
“The change in management, accomplished within a well-planned and smooth process, will have no significant impact on the business, its people and customers. The company will continue to follow its vision – to provide biometrically enhanced vision to people across the world.”
Transformative year
Mr Desimoni played a pivotal role in Rodenstock’s recent transformation and was personally involved in the company’s latest achievements accomplished in 2022.
In September 2022, Rodenstock successfully completed the acquisition of the leading Spanish lens manufacturer Indo Optical, as part of its global growth strategy of expanding its business to high-growth markets.
“With its 80-year legacy, Indo is a very strong brand and will play an important part in expanding our portfolio as well as our global reach. With access to Indo’s markets, we have become a truly European player – now 85% of the company’s revenues will come from European markets.”
With the acquisition of Indo, Rodenstock has also acquired knowledge about myopia treatment lenses, he further explains, opening doors to new lens market segments, specifically those for short-sighted children. Together with Indo, the company is now completing a new factory in Morocco to help meet this demand, which has been sharply increasing over the last two decades.
Another strategic step that Rodenstock took in 2022 was the divestment of its eyewear business. “This business line accounted for less than 10% of total revenue and it neither drove the top line nor contributed to the bottom line in the recent years,” explains Mr Desimoni. “With the introduction of our Biometric Intelligent Glasses (B.I.G.), we clearly set our focus on continuous innovation and development in our core business, so the divestment was a natural step. However, finding the right owner was a critical part of it.”
In December, Rodenstock reached an agreement with De Rigo, its trusted, long-standing business partner and a global market leader in the design, production, and distribution of high-quality eyewear, to take over the business. “In De Rigo, we have found a company that will ensure continuity for our eyewear business and strengthen our Rodenstock Eyewear and Porsche Design Eyewear brands.”
Pioneer in innovation
A focus on innovation has driven the company’s development since its inception – Rodenstock currently maintains approximately 530 patents worldwide and over 200 pending patent applications for innovations in lenses, frames, and instruments.
The company was the first to overhaul the traditional system for measuring the human eye in 2018, introducing its DNEye® PRO Technology – the paradigm shift in lens calculation. The DNEye® Scanner determines thousands of data points to produce an exact biometric model of the eyes which is transferred digitally to each lens during the production process. The result is individualised lenses for the sharpest vision.
In 2020, Rodenstock launched its corporate philosophy, B.I.G. VISION™ FOR ALL, initiating a paradigm shift in individual progressive lenses. More recently, the high degree of biometric 
precision of these lenses, based on the exact biometric eye model of the wearer, has inspired Rodenstock to launch the B.I.G. EXACT™ portfolio, which is significantly slimmer, making product selection for the optician even easier and more efficient.
In 2022, Rodenstock introduced B.I.G. NORM™ – a new level of biometric precision for conventional lenses based on artificial intelligence, making B.I.G. VISION™ FOR ALL accessible to everyone, even where only standard refraction values are available.
“The company needs to have strong products and continued innovation is part of the success. The ultimate goal is to bring enhanced benefits to users. It is as simple as that,” says Mr Desimoni.
Staying true to its purpose
He highlights yet another significant change accomplished over the last few years – the company has changed its operational setup and has qualified its six regional factories to secure local production as opposed to delivering finished products from a central point. By increasing localisation, Rodenstock has reduced the volume shipped by nearly one-third.
“Local production has brought us closer to the customer and significantly reduced order-to-delivery time. We have learned a lesson from the pandemic and have become more resilient, less dependent on the shipping industry, and more flexible with regard to meeting customer requirements fast and in a reliable manner, while still providing top German quality. 95% of our portfolio is now available from the six local factories.”
Looking ahead, Mr Desimoni affirms that Rodenstock will remain true to its core values embedded in the company’s DNA. “The overall direction and purpose have not changed, only the vision has become crisper and clearer. We remain true to our DNA, which is innovation-driven, continuing to push the limits, both in terms of product enhancement and a reduced environmental footprint.”
“We are expanding our core business, investing in new technologies, looking at new markets while promoting consistency – that is what our employees as well as our customers are looking for. Consistency with what Rodenstock has always stood for – bringing products to the market that make people’s lives better.”
