Optical instruments market in Germany: size, suppliers and public contracts
Market size and key facts
In 2025, public buyers in Germany awarded 136 supply contracts for optical instruments through award notices on TED; the 63 of them that state a value (46.3%) add up to €15.1 million, a floor rather than the full contract value. Germany imported €2.57 billion of goods in the customs headings matched to optical instruments in 2025 (Eurostat Comext, HS 9002, 9013, 9006, 9005, 9007 and 2 more headings; all buyers, not only public ones), down 2.6% from 2023.
- Since November 2023, 260 companies have won 454 public supply contracts for optical instruments in Germany, in 369 award notices from 175 public buyers.
- 83.5% of these awards went to companies registered in Germany; the most frequent foreign origin is Lithuania.
- The five companies that win most often hold 21.1% of all awards.
- 55.6% of the awards whose notice states the number of tenders received a single bid.
In proportion
All public purchasing in Germany — general government spending on goods, services and investment, the measure the OECD and the European Commission use for public procurement — came to €864 billion in 2025, 19.1% of GDP (Eurostat). Award notices on TED cover only the contracts above the EU thresholds, so they show who wins, not the whole of that spending.
Source: Eurostat, government finance statistics (gov_10a_main, gov_10a_exp) and GDP (nama_10_gdp), retrieved 9 November 2026.
Updated · counted daily from contract award notices on TED and Eurostat international trade data · figures as JSON · free to quote with attribution (CC BY 4.0)
How to cite: Cresques, "Optical instruments market in Germany", https://cresques.com/markets/de/386-optical-instruments, from TED contract award notices (© European Union) and Eurostat Comext, updated 13 November 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.
- Winning companies
- 260
- since November 2023
- Award notices
- 369
- on TED
- Public buyers
- 175
- hospitals, schools, agencies
- Imports 2025
- €2.6B
- all buyers, Eurostat
The market in numbers
Public supply contracts in Germany: award notices published on TED from 2023-11 to 2026-11, by publication year.
- Contracts awarded
- 454
- in 369 award notices
- Awarded value
- €45.5M
- from 39% of awards with a published value
- Winning companies
- 260
- with at least one award
- Public buyers
- 175
- hospitals, cities, agencies
Table view
| Nov–Dec 2023 | 10 |
| 2024 | 160 |
| 2025 | 136 |
| 2026 | 148 |
Table view
| Nov–Dec 2023 | €350.4K |
| 2024 | €20.5M |
| 2025 | €15.1M |
| 2026 | €9.5M |
- Other2
Table view
| Universities, schools and research | 242 |
| Cities, regions and central administration | 165 |
| Economic affairs | 18 |
| Hospitals and health services | 11 |
| Armed forces and defence agencies | 7 |
| Police, fire services and prisons | 3 |
| Social protection | 3 |
| Culture, sport and religion | 2 |
| Other | 2 |
- Oberbayern72DE21
- Köln55DEA2
- Oberpfalz49DE23
- Berlin27DE30
- Stuttgart23DE11
- Hamburg20DE60
- Thüringen19DEG0
- Hannover19DE92
Table view
| Oberbayern | 72 |
| Köln | 55 |
| Oberpfalz | 49 |
| Berlin | 27 |
| Stuttgart | 23 |
| Hamburg | 20 |
| Thüringen | 19 |
| Hannover | 19 |
- Large companies
- Medium-sized
- Small
- Micro
- Size not stated
Table view
| Large companies | 130 · 28.6% |
| Medium-sized | 126 · 27.8% |
| Small | 133 · 29.3% |
| Micro | 62 · 13.7% |
| Size not stated | 3 · 0.7% |
- Lithuania19
- Netherlands16
- France14
- United States6
- Switzerland5
- Japan2
Table view
| Lithuania | 19 |
| Netherlands | 16 |
| France | 14 |
| United States | 6 |
| Switzerland | 5 |
| Japan | 2 |
Table view
| 2023 | €2.6B |
| 2024 | €2.6B |
| 2025 | €2.6B |
- München64
- Regensburg49
- Bonn30
- Berlin27
- Hamburg20
- Stuttgart20
- Dresden17
- Hildesheim16
Table view
| München | 64 |
| Regensburg | 49 |
| Bonn | 30 |
| Berlin | 27 |
| Hamburg | 20 |
| Stuttgart | 20 |
| Dresden | 17 |
| Hildesheim | 16 |
Imports: Eurostat Comext, customs headings 9002, 9013, 9006, 9005, 9007, 9010, 9008 (only headings whose trade is mainly this category); all buyers, not only public ones.
Awards to companies registered in Germany
83.5%
75 awards went to companies registered elsewhere.
Share of the 5 biggest winners
21.1%
Of all awards; a high share means a concentrated market.
Lots with a single bid
55.6%
Among 453 awards whose notice states the number of tenders.
How we count: one award per procedure, lot and winning company, from live contract award notices; a joint procurement counts on every buyer's market. Values are the awarded amounts published in the notice (framework ceilings and estimates are never added), converted to euro at the ECB yearly average. Company size is the SME flag of the notice (eForms BT-165). Read the methodology.
The same category across Europe: all 30 countries compared →
Among the companies that win most often
- TOPTICA Photonics AG35 public contracts in total
- Light Conversion UAB19 public contracts in total
- TOPAG Lasertechnik GmbH19 public contracts in total
- Menlo Systems GmbH25 public contracts in total
- Carl Zeiss Microscopy Deutschland GmbH69 public contracts in total
Where this industry meets in Germany
- LAB-SUPPLY FrankfurtTrade fair · Frankfurt, Germany
- German Biotechnology DaysCongress · Düsseldorf, Germany
- SLAS Europe Conference and ExhibitionConference · Hamburg, Germany
- ACHEMATrade fair · Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- analyticaTrade fair · Munich, Germany
- ControlTrade fair · Stuttgart, Germany
Watch this market
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Which of these 260 companies could distribute your product?
A Cresques market map of Germany for this category shows the companies that win these contracts: how often, for how many buyers and for how much, and whether the leading ones are distributors or manufacturers.
Open this market map — freeFree account, no card: one market map, showing the first 5 companies with their contract awards. Paid plans show every company.
After sign-in the new-market form opens with Germany and Optical instruments filled in.
No account yet? Ask for a free preview.
One page by e-mail within one working day: three distributors that already win public contracts for this kind of product in the country you choose, each one checked (is it a distributor, or a manufacturer's own sales company?), with its contract record, and the price of the full shortlist. If we can find fewer than three, the reply says so.
Read how to enter the Germany market.
Questions
- Who wins public contracts for optical instruments in Germany?
- 260 companies won 369 contract award notices for these categories from 175 public buyers in Germany since November 2023. The companies that win most often are TOPTICA Photonics AG, Light Conversion UAB, TOPAG Lasertechnik GmbH, Menlo Systems GmbH, Carl Zeiss Microscopy Deutschland GmbH.
- How big is the optical instruments market in Germany?
- In 2025, public buyers in Germany awarded 136 supply contracts for optical instruments through award notices on TED; the 63 of them that state a value (46.3%) add up to €15.1 million, a floor rather than the full contract value. Germany imported €2.57 billion of goods in the customs headings matched to optical instruments in 2025 (Eurostat Comext, HS 9002, 9013, 9006, 9005, 9007 and 2 more headings; all buyers, not only public ones), down 2.6% from 2023.
- Where do suppliers of optical instruments meet buyers and distributors in Germany?
- At trade fairs and congresses such as LAB-SUPPLY Frankfurt, German Biotechnology Days, SLAS Europe Conference and Exhibition, ACHEMA, analytica, Control — each checked on the organiser's official website.
- How do I find a distributor for optical instruments in Germany?
- Create a free Cresques account and open the market map for Germany and this category. It shows the companies that win public contracts there, how often, for how many buyers and for how much: the first 5 on the Free plan, every company on a paid plan. Where the data exists, the map also shows wholesalers from the business register, import figures and the industry's trade fairs.
Sources: contract award notices on TED — Tenders Electronic Daily (ted.europa.eu), © European Union, published since November 2023, processed by Cresques (one award per procedure and lot); imports: Eurostat, international trade in goods (Comext), © European Union — only the customs headings whose trade is mainly this category, chosen by Cresques.