Only one passenger gate leads into the almost completely darkened room. The air inside the darkroom is ionized. People work in white full-body suits, and their heads are also covered by hoods. The clean room in the basement of IB/E Optics in Freyung is one of the features that makes the company competitive on the global market in the field of optical system manufacturing. 50 employees at the Freyung site develop, produce and sell camera lenses that are used all over the world.
“A lens is the creative tool for the cameraman,” explains Markus Krenn, head of production at IB/E. The film end can make a variety of settings by adjusting the lens. By opening and closing the aperture, the brightness can be regulated, for example, and focusing on the desired object can also be done on the lens. The focal length, also determined by the lens, influences the angle at which the film is filmed.
One of those cameramen who uses such a “tool” is the Brit James Friend. To record film scenes from the film “All Quiet in the West” he used camera lenses that were designed and manufactured in Freyung at IB/E – and received the Oscar for this in the “best camera” category. But camera lenses from IB/E were not only used for recording the anti-war drama. The lenses have also been used in films such as “James Bond”, “The Revenant”, “Passengers” and the Netflix series “Jeffrey Dahmer”.
Often enough, however, the company doesn’t even notice what is being shot with the lenses later. They work for clients and usually about two years in advance. When watching TV at home, Krenn claims, he recognizes film scenes that were shot using the company’s lenses: “That’s the effect of the images, the flare and the lighting effects.” Around half of the lenses produced in Freyung are intended for use in the cinema industry.
Others have recently been used, for example, in commercials for McDonald’s, Häagen-Dazs or Dr Pepper, as well as in music videos by Ellie Goulding or Sam Smith. But the Lower Bavarian lenses are also used in the automotive industry, for example at BMW or Porsche, as well as in aerospace technology. You can even come across them in everyday life – for example in the medical field, during an endoscopy or in dental technology. The fact that lenses from Freyung are used in so many industries and countries is primarily due to the efforts of Managing Director Klaus Eckerl. The qualified engineer founded the “Ingenieursbüro Eckerl”, or IB/E for short, a little more than 30 years ago.
Managing director Klaus Eckerl at work: He already had a photo laboratory when he was young.
(Photo: IB/E Freyung)
Born in Illingen, Swabia, but in his own words a “genetic Lower Bavarian”, he was already enthusiastic about photography in his youth. He was known locally as the one who always took photos at parties and weddings. He had his own photo laboratory at home, but was also a creative soul who financed his studies with cabaret and music. But at some point he had to decide: “Do I continue with this or do I do something sensible?”
Eckerl decided on the “sensible” thing. First in his own garage, later in the Enna factory in Munich, Eckerl worked in projection, design and production of zoom lenses as well as plastic injection molding for slide projectors. In 2001 he finally founded his own GmbH. He knows every step of the process, every area of the company, the entire spectrum, says Eckerl. “To the chagrin of my employees,” he adds with a wink. The passion for optics runs in the family. Klaus Eckerl’s brother Uwe heads the “development” department for optics, mechatronics and electrical engineering of the lenses. In 2012 the company moved from Hutthurm to its own premises in Freyung. Here a lens goes through the entire production cycle and thus also goes through the clean room in the basement – the heart of the company.
Dust, dirt or dander must not get on the lens
No dust, dirt, hair or dander may get on the lenses. They could affect the quality of the images. In the clean room where the lenses are assembled, the employees wear special clean room suits; material is only brought into the room through a lock. And the air is ionized. This reduces the charge on the individual lenses and prevents dust from settling on them. The room is also almost completely darkened, so details are visible on the lenses that cannot be seen in daylight. Not every company uses such complex processes as manufacturing in clean rooms when producing lenses, says Krenn. “But that’s what sets us apart from others.”
Another special feature of the company is its own house parts production. Materials used later are manufactured here. The company serves a niche market, says Krenn: “That’s why we can’t even quickly call someone and order a system. That’s why we even develop our own devices.” One of these specially manufactured machines is a system for measurement-based adjustment of optics. “If you do it yourself, you remain the most flexible and independent of third parties.” The mechanical and optical cells are finally assembled in assembly – the company’s largest department. Krenn calls this process “marrying” the parts. In addition to lenses, the employees also produce various effect filters for lenses. These can add details, reflections and flares to shots, such as sun rays.
It usually takes between nine and twelve months from development to the finished product. This is mainly due to the precision required during production. “We don’t do assembly line work, it’s more of a factory.” Finished products are tested in the company’s showroom. There are various light sources and camera applications here that simulate the use of lenses in the film world.
Managing director Klaus Eckerl is worried about his successor
What is in demand has changed again and again in the thirty years that Eckerl has been in business. An “old glass look” is currently very trendy, he says, and a color filter is what gives recordings a warm touch. Such an effect filter also softened the shots in the Oscar-winning film “All Quiet in the West.”
Eckerl also wants to keep up with the times at his company headquarters in Freyung. He plans to enlarge the existing building again. Then IB/E could also have its own glass production in the future. The 63-year-old is currently thinking about his own future. “The challenge I have is that I don’t have children. This is a topic that concerns me in terms of succession planning.”