Producer
Heraeus Covantics
German specialty materials subsidiary of Heraeus Group (Hanau, Germany). Produces specialty and telecom optical fiber preforms at Hanau via its proprietary RIC® (Rod-in-Cylinder collapse) process alongside PCVD, VAD, OVD, and MCVD capabilities. RIC® flagship: 230mm OD × 3m preform yielding >7,000 km of single-mode fiber — one of the world's largest preform formats. Also makes Fluosil® specialty fused silica preforms for UV-IR, medical lasers, industrial and scientific applications. Historically supplied fused silica tubes to Bell Labs (1973 MCVD invention). Smaller volume than the fiber majors (<1% global market share in telecom preforms); positioned as specialty/custom and technology leader rather than commodity producer. Also sells cladding deposition as a service.
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Goods downstream
2
Facilities
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2 inputs Heraeus Covantics supplies
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2 facilities
Heraeus Covantics Hanau Fused Silica Plant →
DEHanau, Hesse · preform_plant
Historic center of Heraeus fused silica operations. Produces ultra-pure synthetic quartz tubes, preform cladding blanks, and specialty preforms for telecom and photonic applications.
Heraeus Covantics – Hanau Quarzglas Facility (Germany) →
DEHesse
Heraeusstr. 12-14, 63450 Hanau — Heraeus Quarzglas GmbH & Co. KG home campus. Produces specialty and telecom optical fiber preforms via RIC® (Rod-in-Cylinder collapse) process. Flagship RIC® spec: 230mm OD × 3m preform yielding >7,000 km of single-mode fiber. Also PCVD, VAD, OVD, MCVD, FCVD capability. Fluosil® fused silica for specialty fiber (UV-IR, medical, industrial). Historically supplied fused silica tubes to Bell Labs (1973 MCVD invention). Leading provider of cladding deposition as a service to fiber makers. Specialty only — not a commodity telecom preform producer.
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Specialty Optical Fiber Preforms (RIC® Process)
40%Fluosil® Specialty Fused Silica (UV, Laser, Scientific)
35%Parent Heraeus Group Context (Precious Metals + Bonding Wire)
25%
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Did you know2023
Heraeus Covantics' Fluosil® ultra-pure fused silica serves three completely separate critical supply chains: (1) optical fiber preforms — drawn into the glass that carries internet broadband; (2) semiconductor process equipment — Czochralski silicon crystal pulling crucibles and furnace tubes used in every wafer fab; (3) UV-C germicidal lamps — fused silica envelopes for 254nm mercury lamps and 222nm excimer lamps used in hospital air disinfection and surface sterilization. During COVID-19, demand for UV-C germicidal lamps surged 10× globally — temporarily competing with semiconductor and fiber optics markets for fused silica capacity from a small number of specialty suppliers including Heraeus. A German specialty glass company in Hanau simultaneously supplies internet infrastructure, chip manufacturing, and pandemic air sterilization — from the same ultra-pure silica material.
Heraeus Covantics ↗Origin2023
Heraeus Covantics (formerly Heraeus Quarzglas) is a specialty materials subsidiary of Heraeus Group — a 170-year-old German family company founded in 1851 by Wilhelm Carl Heraeus in Hanau as a precious metals business. Heraeus grew from gold and platinum processing to become one of the world's largest precious metals dealers. In the 20th century, Heraeus expanded into functional materials: quartz glass (for scientific and optical instruments), bonding wire (gold wire for semiconductor packaging), dental alloys, and wound care. Heraeus Covantics was carved out from the quartz glass business and focuses specifically on optical fiber preforms and specialty fused silica. The same German family company that manages billions in precious metal assets and makes the gold wire bonding in semiconductor chips also makes the fused silica preforms that are drawn into optical fiber.
Heraeus Group ↗Capacity2023
Heraeus Covantics' RIC® (Rod-in-Cylinder) process produces the world's largest diameter optical fiber preforms — 230mm outer diameter, 3 meters long — yielding over 7,000 kilometers of single-mode fiber from a single preform rod. For context, a standard telecom fiber preform produces 3,000-5,000 km of fiber; Heraeus's RIC process more than doubles this. Larger preforms mean fewer preform-to-preform draw splices in finished fiber, improving consistency across long cable runs. The RIC process is proprietary to Heraeus and enables a combination of ultra-large diameter with the RIC's hybrid collapse technique — a process that competitors have not replicated at this scale. For submarine cable and long-haul terrestrial applications where low-splice-count fiber is critical, Heraeus RIC preforms offer performance advantages not available from commodity preform manufacturers.
Heraeus Covantics ↗