50 Years at Excelitas: The Göttingen Semiconductor Site Honors a Long-Time Employee
On August 1, 2026, Frank Schindler will celebrate 50 years of service at Excelitas’ Göttingen location. He started there in 1976 as a precision mechanic and now works as a cost engineer in the semiconductor business.
Frank Schindler began an apprenticeship as a precision mechanic at Spindler & Hoyer on August 1, 1976. At the time, Spindler & Hoyer was a locally based family-owned company with about 220 employees that, through several stages, has since become part of Excelitas. After completing his apprenticeship, he earned his master craftsman’s certification and, over the years, took on increasingly greater responsibility: from heading the mechanics department to managing production, and finally to his current role in cost engineering, which he has held since 2011.
Over the course of five decades, Schindler has been part of numerous technological and organizational changes, including the introduction of CNC technologies, the digitization of manufacturing and administration, and the transformation from a regional family-owned business to an internationally networked technology group. As a cost engineer, he now applies his knowledge of business processes to optimize products, manufacturing processes, and cost structures, thereby contributing to the growth of the semiconductor business.
Claus Spruch, Head of the Holistic Lithography Business Unit, praises Schindler’s wealth of experience and his openness to innovation. Frank Stiebert, Site Manager in Göttingen, emphasizes that 50 years of service is a rarity today and stands as a model of professional expertise and continuity at the site.
The Excelitas site in Göttingen currently employs over 500 people and specializes in the semiconductor industry. It previously operated under the names Qioptiq, Linos, and Spindler & Hoyer. In 2023, it celebrated its 125th anniversary, and in 2021, a new production facility began operations in the Science Park.
