For the second year in a row, the lighting specialist is ranked among the Top 10 Best Workplaces™ in Austria. In addition, PHOTONIC was one of only five companies to receive the Best Employer Branding Award 2025 for particularly effective and authentic initiatives to enhance employer attractiveness.

“The fact that we are among the Top 10 employers in the category XS for the second year in a row and have now also been honored with the Best Employer Branding Award makes me incredibly proud,” emphasizes PHOTONIC Managing Director Stefan Zotter. “It shows that we are not only on the right path internally but also present ourselves convincingly as an employer brand. We place great importance on ensuring that everyone feels valued here – this builds trust, unity, and motivation.”

The award is proof that the entire PHOTONIC team lives a strong corporate culture. The prize is based on an anonymous employee survey that covers five dimensions: credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and team spirit. Once again this year, PHOTONIC received particularly positive ratings in all areas. For example, 97% of respondents agreed with the statements “We have fun at work” and “I believe I can make an important contribution here.”

PHOTONIC’s strong team spirit is also successfully communicated externally, as evidenced by the Best Employer Branding Award 2025. Anne Killmeyer, responsible for marketing, is especially pleased about this honour: “Employer branding works best when it comes from genuine collaboration. That’s why this award is a wonderful confirmation that our communication truly brings PHOTONIC’s values to life – not just internally, but also for applicants and external partners.”

PHOTONIC was represented by a strong team at the award ceremony: In addition to Martin Kiryakov (Lead Project Manager Sales and Works Council) and Christian Czech (Account Manager / Internal Sales), Ingo Wiest (Business Development), Tobias Mrachacz (SCM Launch Manager), and Anne Killmeyer (Marketing & Management Assistant) attended the event and celebrated the repeated success together.

Fotocredits: © leadersnet / Gabriel Rizar & PHOTONIC

All 30 ‘PHOTONICers’ took part in the latest Great Place to Work® employee survey and once again voted their company a top employer with excellent ratings.

A culture of trust, appreciation and open dialogue – all this makes PHOTONIC a popular employer. The latest Great Place to Work® employee survey shows that this is not just a subjective feeling: All 30 ‘PHOTONICers’ rated the company – and the results speak for themselves. 100% of the employees confirm that they have a very good workplace.

The survey particularly emphasises the positive error culture, the open and clear communication, the atmosphere of trust and the mutual support – aspects that are essential for a strong corporate culture. This creates an environment in which employees feel valued and listened to. ‘This renewed exceptionally good result for our company makes us proud and confirms that our employees greatly appreciate our outstanding workplace culture,’ says PHOTONIC Managing Director Stefan Zotter, delighted with the successful recertification.

The PHOTONIC team also praised the support of a co-operative working environment in which ideas are exchanged and innovative solutions are developed together. This contributes to the personal development of each individual and strengthens the company’s success.  Working on medical technology projects is seen as particularly meaningful, as the solutions they provide create real added value for people’s health and well-being.

Would you also like to get started at PHOTONIC? Then take a look at our vacancies and become part of our team: https://www.photonic.at/en/company/career/

COMPAMED came to a successful end last week, and we at the WILD Group and PHOTONIC Optical Solutions can look back on an exciting and inspiring exhibition. Our discussions with numerous interested parties and partners centred on innovative approaches to how we, as a technology partner for sophisticated opto-mechatronic products and assemblies, can create real added value for our customers.

Although the character of the exhibition has changed over the years, MEDICA and the associated COMPAMED remain the most important leading trade fairs for medical technology and its supplier industry. This year, we once again had the opportunity to demonstrate our position as an ‘end-to-end’ solution provider: From the design, development and simulation of optical systems to the manufacturing of complex medical products and devices for in-vitro diagnostics, our customers value our ability to offer integrated solutions from a single source.

An increasingly clear change can be seen in the visitor structure at MEDICA: More and more interested parties and suppliers are coming from the APAC region. Numerous project ideas were aimed at overcoming global challenges, such as ensuring low-threshold access to healthcare services for and especially in economically disadvantaged regions. Many of these innovative approaches are based on the cost-efficient combination of artificial intelligence, machine learning and the Internet of Things (IoT), as well as mobile analysis systems that are used in a decentralised manner as part of point-of-care testing. These systems offer the potential to incorporate the WILD Group’s core competences into products and solutions that can contribute to overcoming social challenges on a global level.

This year’s COMPAMED not only brought us exciting new contacts and project ideas, but also reaffirmed our claim to be recognised as the ‘Most Trusted Partner’ by our customers and suppliers. With this momentum, we look forward to the coming year with confidence and look forward to continuing to inspire our prospects, customers and partners within the MedTech community with our comprehensive range of services in new exciting project meetings in 2025.

Despite exciting development leaps in post-processing, high-quality optic components remain indispensable for the visualisation of tiny details in the microscopic world.

Digital microscopy offers us high-resolution images of living cells and cell processes in real time, which has led to significant advances in cancer research, genetics and stem cell research. In pathology, digital microscopy has revolutionised the analysis of tissue samples by enabling more precise diagnoses and collaboration between pathologists worldwide. In neuroscience, too, researchers can use these systems to examine neuronal networks and synapses in greater detail over long periods of time.

In many disciplines, both in medicine and industry, digital microscopes are seen as revolutionary. With sharp, high-contrast images at enormous resolutions and sophisticated tools for image processing and in combination with other digital technologies, they expand access to the finest details now visible under the microscope. There is no doubt that today‘s information technology has no problem processing immense amounts of data. As a result, digital microscopes have stretched the limits of diagnostics, efficient treatment methods and research. On thing is clear though: Anything that the optical components of digital microscopes cannot capture cannot be made visible with post-processing either.

OPTICS DETERMINE THE QUALITY
“Optics are and remain the key to excellence in digital microscopy. How well a system works will ultimately depend on the quality of its optical components. Precisely these components are our specialty”, stresses Franz Aigner, the WILD Group’s Head of Business Development. Whether it is Digital 3D microscopes for high-tech operating theatres, state-of-the-art video microscopes for ultra-precise on-wafer measurements or microscopes for mask aligners in semiconductor manufacturing, they have one thing in common: the centrepiece of all these systems are excellent optics.

“We bring the outstanding concepts of our customers into serial production in a safe and cost-effective manner. Not only due to our long-standing expertise in the development and conceptual design of optics, but primarily due to our different special skills in the manufacturing of high-precision optics, which we have mastered to the point of perfection”, Aigner adds.

EVER HIGHER COMPLEXITY AND REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTRACT MANUFACTURERS

This combination of depth and diversity in expertise is particularly coveted in digital microscopy. Nowadays, one can combine a digital microscope with OCT technology or other digital technologies. It is also possible to use several sensors that are active on several wavelengths. As a result, not only surfaces but also cross sections become visible. Yet the rising complexity of digital microscopes also brings higher requirements for competence, precision, and purity. WILD can meet these high requirements. The company’s competences range from the selection of the best-suited components,process engineering and choice of production and assembly process, to precision cleaning, cleanroom manufacturing and accurate adjustment of measurement instruments. “Moreover, customers can also rely on WILD’s competent support in creating fully compliant documentation for MDR or FDA approval”, emphasises Stefan Werkl, Head of Business Unit Optical Technologies.

GROUNDBREAKING INNOVATION FOR OPERATING THEATRES
The latest example is a digital surgical microscope that has been on the market since 2024. It opens new opportunities for the dynamic visualisation of information and has the potential to herald groundbreaking innovations in the field of surgery. WILD supplies the entire device. The customer opted for the expertise of the Austrian technology partner at a very early stage in the project phase. “The current optical block is based on a concept developed by us”, says Manfred Gallé, Head of Business Unit Medical Technology.

PROCESS EXPERTISE PAVES THE WAY TO NEW TOLERANCE RANGES
“Due to our close proximity to manufacturing, we were also involved in the definition of the assembly process. This meant dealing with questions like ‘Which measurement parameters are necessary?’ or ‘What should individual assembly devices look like?’”, Gallé explains. This shows that in order to advance into new tolerance ranges, much more is needed than just technical equipment and xpertise in manufacturing techniques like positioning milling and alignment turning. “We are constantly fine-tuning our processes, and they are permanently improving.”

PHOTONIC DELIVERS LIGHT
The WILD Group also delivers the complete lighting system for this innovative system. PHOTONIC supplies the complete lighting unit. “The quality of illumination is essential for the image to be generated”, stresses PHOTONIC Managing Director Stefan Zotter. Though this basically applies to every microscope, this one presented particular challenges. Zotter cites the example of a surgery mode, in which more light is projected into the eye over a short period of time. “The light intensity is significantly higher but also critical, so it must be monitored accordingly”, the lighting expert explains.

VIDEO MICROSCOPE FOR GLOBAL MARKET LEADER

Outside the field of medical technology, digital microscopes are also firmly established in the semiconductor industry. WILD is very pleased to welcome a new customer here, considered to be among the global market leaders in high-precision wafer testing technologies. Starting in 2025, they will be handing over the production of a video microscope for ultra-precise on-wafer measurements to the technology partner. The system was developed by the customer themself and incorporates an array of high-quality optics that guarantee maximum resolution. “We are proud to be part of these groundbreaking developments”, admits Stefan Werkl, Head of Business Unit Optical Technologies.

Great Place To Work® recently celebrated PHOTONIC as one of Austria‘s best employers at the „For All Stars Night“ event.

What makes an ordinary employer a “Best Place to Work”? Mutual trust, credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and team spirit. In the course of an anonymous employee survey, PHOTONIC scored particularly high approval rates in all these points, thus securing a Best Workplaces™ 2024 Austria award. At the “For All Stars Night” event in Vienna, the optical and lighting technology specialist was ranked among the top three employers. The company received a 100% approval from its staff in statements such as: “I am proud to tell others that I work here”. Of those questioned, 93% said that their work was more than a “job” for them.

For PHOTONIC Managing Director Stefan Zotter, such feedback represents a particular proof of trust. Moreover, it constitutes an acknowledgement that the company takes everyone’s needs and requests seriously, and that it goes to great lengths to fulfil them. He sincerely thanked them at the award ceremony, which he attended together with Sales Manager Annette Stampfer, Development Manager Gerold Aschinger and Quality Manager Wolfgang Hanser: “I am very pleased that our employees describe their work as meaningful and are proud of their company. The mere fact that all of them participated in the survey shows how much each and every one of them feels attached to PHOTONIC”. Such exceptional team spirit is based on the great amount of free space given to employees: “What we receive in return is tremendous solidarity and their full focus and commitment for our customers and their projects”, says Zotter.

Optical measurement methods are gaining ground in new industries. In many of these, WILD‘s in-depth optics expertise and special assembly skills are in high demand.

Vehicle assistance systems like active cruise control, lane departure warning system or parking sensors. Cameras that provide images from great distances for the navigation systems we rely on every day. Dental scanners that create 3D images of patients‘ teeth, allowing for a smoother and more efficient treatment. Or industrial processes that collect and analyse precise measurement data almost at the speed of light. Optical measurement methods are becoming increasingly indispensable in our daily lives and digitalisation is further accelerating this trend. This comes as no surprise, since all technologies – from time-of-flight (TOF) to photometry and 3D stereo vision – come with a range of benefits that transform them into powerful tools for various disciplines. They can perform contactless measurements, collect three-dimensional information and deliver results in a fraction of a second.

OPTICS AS THE COMMON DENOMINATOR
What do optical measurement methods have in common? They use light to collect data and they need optical components like lenses, mirrors, filters, detectors and light sources to generate, control and analyse this light. This is precisely where WILD comes into the picture. ”The common denominator of all these technologies is optics. We possess decades of expertise in this sector, which makes us a coveted technology partner for various different industries“, CTO Wolfgang Warum emphasises.

The list of customer projects is long. For instance, WILD has already delivered aerial cameras that can capture high-resolution images from an altitude of up to 2.5 kilometres. In the case of 3D scanners – from intra-oral scanners in dental medicine or laser scanners that can capture entire buildings despite fog or direct sunlight, to optical coherence tomography (OCT) devices – WILD is integrated in the development and production of a whole series of innovative products. The optomechatronics specialist also manufactures the optical components of an advanced hyperspectral imaging system that can work directly in the processing line (see more on page 7). WILD‘s know-how can even be found at games tables in casinos – e.g. in 3D stereo vision systems that monitor playing cards and bets to ensure a safer gaming experience.

PHOTONIC is heavily involved in fluorescence imaging. This is used for instance in flow cytometry, where it can analyse thousands of cells per second. It is therefore an efficient method in haematological diagnostics and research, and an indispensable tool in food analysis, DNA sequencing or the microbiological analysis of water quality. ”By connecting different optical measurement methods with each other, we pave the way for innovative solutions in all industries“, stresses Warum.

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy solutions allow for quick and reliable analyses across the entire value chain.

Quality control and process monitoring in the food processing industry rely on exact data regarding fat content, humidity, crude protein, or sugar content. In the pharma industry, precise control of the concentration of active substances in medicines is a must. And even in
agriculture, farmers today are monitoring their harvest and feedstuffs directly in the field or in the stables to ensure the best possible supply for their animals and to efficiently process harvested crops. In these areas, NIR spectroscopy has established itself as the most suitable analysis method, and WILD has already developed a comprehensive know-how around the technology, ranging from MEMS-based concepts to FTIR spectrometers.

It is above all the combination of precise, quick measurements with powerful databases that make NIR spectroscopy solutions so essential as decision-making tools. There is currently a trend toward mobile solutions in this field. ”Near-infrared light can penetrate deep into the material, making it ideal for heterogeneous sampling. In addition, it allows for real-time analysis without the need for elaborate sample preparation and it also delivers results with laboratory accuracy even under demanding environmental conditions. All this helps cut costs, save time and reduce both material and energy consumption“, explains Stephan Payer, Head of Business Unit WILD Electronics.

WILD has demonstrated on several occasions that the demand for stability, compact size and mobility can be compatible with utmost precision. For instance, the technology partner currently supplies the NIR spectrograph for an innovative hyperspectral imaging system, consisting of the diffraction grating, imaging optics for the camera and custom-made mechanical components. Thanks to its stable optomechanical design, it can be used directly in the process line – in this particular case, in sorting facilities. ”Our optical components are so stable that they can withstand dust, vibrations and temperature variations of up to 50 degrees,“ stresses Stefan Werkl, Head of Business Unit Optical Technologies at WILD GmbH.

As a technology partner for NIR spectroscopy, WILD supports its customers according to their respective requirements, from system integration and risk assessment to CE conformity or compliance with requirements for placing their products on the market, e.g. in the US.