CHESTERFIELD, Mo. – It’s technology most of us will never use, created by a company headquartered in a country many of us may never get to visit. But ZEISS has made a home in St. Louis County, and the German company’s new building in Chesterfield is another example of international businesses investing in our region and workforce.
“It’s perfect to be in the Midwest. We have a major operation in California, outside of San Francisco, which I always found cumbersome to fly to from Germany,” Hartmut Koenig, head of ZEISS Competence Center Chesterfield, said. “This cuts a little bit shorter. The flight right in the center of the states is a good opportunity.”
In 2022, ZEISS acquired two Chesterfield-based medical technology companies, allowing it to expand the range of the surgical instruments it offers. But ZEISS needed more space, so it expanded the site to more than 64,500 square feet.
“It’s quite important that we are spread all over the United States. This is a huge, important market for us,” Koenig said. “We are in ophthalmology. We are in microsurgery. This is where you should be.”
“This is the type of trade that we want to encourage and attract to the St. Louis region,” Rodney Crim, CEO and president of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, said.
Crim says the relationship with ZEISS was fostered on a trade mission to Germany.
“We’re in a competitive environment internationally, and so if we don’t get out there and show what we can do here in St. Louis—meet the people, develop relationships, work with the companies—then we cannot attract; so, we must be able to attract,” Crim said.
With more than 160 people working for ZEISS at the Chesterfield site, officials hope the increased space supports increased productivity and success.
“It just helps grow and solidify that Missouri’s on the map for other international companies to take a look at. We have several already in the area, and this just continues to help us grow with that community across the region,” Lori Becklenberg, Missouri Department of Economic Development, said.
She helped organize a trade trip to Germany for state officials, including Governor Mike Parson.
“You always wonder, do meetings really pay off? When you get to see this kind of investment, this kind of company coming here, the longevity of them, they’re going to be here for a while, and they’re going to be a first-class operation and hiring good people,” Parson said.
