Dear friends of the Rollei list Dirk-Roger Schmitt and myslef are delighted to submit you a report of a visit we made at Franke und Heidecke GmbH in Braunschweig (Brunswick), Germany in March 2006. For those who dit not follow the history of the firm recently, we'll briefly say that the Rollei brand is now operated by two separate German firms, Rollei GmbH in Berlin for consumer products and Franke und Heidecke GmbH for professional products, including of course the line of TLR cameras plus the slide projector product line. I have uploaded to the rollei gallery some scanned images I have taken with my hand-held, no-flash, rollei 35 during this visit: visit-at-f-h-dias (6 photos) http://www.rollei-gallery.net/e-bigler/folder-8810.html visit-at-f-h-negs (6 photos) http://www.rollei-gallery.net/e-bigler/folder-8811.html visit-at-f-h-strasse (2 photos) http://www.rollei-gallery.net/e-bigler/folder-8812.html visit-at-voigt (6 photos) http://www.rollei-gallery.net/e-bigler/folder-8813.html Enjoy !! ---------------------------------------------------- A visit to Franke und Heidecke GmbH in Braunschweig March 2006 By Emmanuel Bigler and Dirk-Roger Schmitt ------------------------------------------ Internet communities are supposed to link people sharing the same interests virtually. Sometimes the virtual world becomes real. I had the pleasure to experience this at the end of March 2006 when I was invited for a factory tour at the Rollei facilities, now officially named Franke & Heidecke GmbH, located at 196, Salzdahlumer Straße in Braunschweig, Germany, the same location since 1929. The visit was made possible thanks to Dirk-Roger Schmitt, who lives in Braunschweig, a Rollei enthusiast and regular participant to Marc James Small's Rollei Discussion List on the Internet. Dirk-Roger was able to arrange the tour thanks to courtesy of Herr Dietmar Kanzer, the sales manager at Franke und Heidecke GmbH. The Rollei factory is located within walking distance of the main train station, south of the old city centre. Soon after the company was started by Paul Franke and Reinhold Heidecke, new facilities were established at the present location. During the Second World War, the Rollei factory suffered like many other buildings in Braunschweig, but soon after reconstruction, the factory expanded in the fifties to incorporate two new buildings designed by the local architect Kraemer. Those two buildings are still there and either are rented by other companies or just after renewal are waiting for a new life. Actually very few buildings have been removed from the times of the maximum expansion of the factory, in the seventies, at least as far as we can judge from a view from the air published in Claus Prochnow's "Rollei Report Volume 2". http://www.rollei-gallery.net/e-bigler/folder-8810.html But let us start the visit. After a friendly welcome by Herr Kanzer, we start by one of strong tradition and expertise of F&H : fine mechanics. Nowadays, computer numerically controlled (CNC) machines have, for a long time, replaced rows of manually-operated or semi-automated machine tools. Precision is better, shapes that would have been impossible to fabricate are now directly carved into the metal directly from a computer file. The characteristic smell of cutting oil is familiar to those who sometimes enter into a fine mechanics workshop; we can see the stock of die-cast bodies for cameras and projectors, waiting for the machining operations. Then we step up to the mounting/assembly hall were most of the operations are done manually. We have the pleasure to see one of the employees working on one the the new Rollei TLR accessories, already available from specialised dealers: the swap-type twin-lens filter holder. The device, based on the principles of the movable parallelogram, allows to switch a regular threaded filter between the viewing lens and the taking lens. We remember then that the Rollei 2.8 GX and FX TLR are the only cameras where continuous light measurement is "TTLV", i.e. : Through The Viewing Lens. We can see real leather panels waiting for cutting and mounting on the 2.8 FX. For a Rollei enthusiast, it is not necessary to describe the pleasure of manipulating a TLR body before the final mounting and try and understand the secrets of the famous twin-cam focusing system ! This is was good opportunity to ask Herr Kanzer about the re-introduction of the tele-Rolleiflex. The new twin-lens Tele-Rollei was already officially shown at the PMA, Las Vegas in Feb 2006, but there is something all rolleiphiles want to know : did you solve the problem of the minimum focusing distance ? Yes ! he answer with a mysterious smile. We do not want to push him, this year is Photokina Year ! Let us be patient until the official specifications are presented on the final series model ! We can silently watch a lady working on the final quality control of a 6008 camera and we understand the commitment of F&H people to their products. One of the symbols of precision optical and mechanical adjustments are the collimator machines, that all readers of Prochnow's books have seen; the sturdy apparatus are still there, freshly re-calibrated, ready to fine-tune the position of lenses on camera bodies. Various optical test targets (including a very peculiar "in-depth" 3-dimensional target), rolls of test-film that are run into each film magazine, give us an idea of the different operations in quality control. In another room, we can watch an automated FTM test; this reminds us the second business of F&H: fine optics. Since Rollei bought the Voigtländer assets in 1972, Rollei-F&H have acquired a complete lens fabrication know-how. We can also see through a window the modern computer-controlled polishing equipment, in a clean room environment. The last part of the visit was devoted to lacquer and painting, another important operation in the manufacturing of lens and camera equipment. We thank Herr Kanzer for his friendly welcome and continue our visit outside the building. http://www.rollei-gallery.net/e-bigler/folder-8811.html In the backyard we can see the famous brick wall test target used for the calibration of Rolleimetric cameras. One of the famous Rollei buildings, the Kraemer machine shop, has been totally renewed and is waiting for new activities. The main Kraemer Bau building is now rented to several independent companies, including a department of Microtechnology of the Technical University Braunschweig. High precision still rules over there !! No photographic pilgrimage to Braunschweig would be complete without a quick tour to the former Voigtländer factory. Just before visiting Rollei, we had placed a short visit to Campestraße, downtown, the historical place where the Voigtländer company started in Braunschweig in 1849. Before going to the former main Voigtländer factory built in 1915, Dirk-Roger Schmitt wants to show me the place where his family lived, near the Franke und Heidecke Straße, within cycling distance from the Rollei factory. After the war, the company had bought an estate and had built several homes for Rollei employees. The situation is quite similar to what existed in many industrial cities in Europe where families spent all their lives working for the same company living in in homes that were built by the company. http://www.rollei-gallery.net/e-bigler/folder-8812.html Then we proceed to the former Voigtländer factory located in Gliesmarode, a suburb of Braunschweig. The building is still there, occupied by different companies including a car repair shop and a mechanics workshop. Nearby, in Petzvalstraße you can find a specialised camera repair shop. In a restaurant nearby, probably the former Voigtländer canteen, there is a small Voigtländer museum, reminding all the cameras that were manufactured there in one of the biggest German photographic company, as we can see of a vintage view of the factory from the air. http://www.rollei-gallery.net/e-bigler/folder-8813.html That was the end of the tour. Many thanks to Dirk-Roger... and many thanks to the Rollei List for dream made true !! References and suggested readings : A report by Ferdi Stutterheim: Rollei Braunschweig factory visit on May 10-11, 2001 http://www.galerie-photo.com/une-visite-a-l-usine-rollei-us.html (original English version) http://www.galerie-photo.com/une-visite-a-l-usine-rollei-fr.html (translated French version) Claus Prochnow's Web site; information on his books, a comprehensive survey of Rollei and Voigtländer history and products http://www.rollei-report.com A visit to Franke und Heidecke GmbH in Braunschweig March 2006 By Emmanuel Bigler and Dirk-Roger Schmitt ------------------------------------------ Internet communities are supposed to link people sharing the same interests virtually. Sometimes the virtual world becomes real. I had the pleasure to experience this at the end of March 2006 when I was invited for a factory tour at the Rollei facilities, now officially named Franke & Heidecke GmbH, located at 196, Salzdahlumer Straße in Braunschweig, Germany, the same location since 1929. The visit was made possible thanks to Dirk-Roger Schmitt, who lives in Braunschweig, a Rollei enthusiast and regular participant to Marc James Small's Rollei Discussion List on the Internet. Dirk-Roger was able to arrange the tour thanks to courtesy of Herr Dietmar Kanzer, the sales manager at Franke und Heidecke GmbH. The Rollei factory is located within walking distance of the main train station, south of the old city centre. Soon after the company was started by Paul Franke and Reinhold Heidecke, new facilities were established at the present location. During the Second World War, the Rollei factory suffered like many other buildings in Braunschweig, but soon after reconstruction, the factory expanded in the fifties to incorporate two new buildings designed by the local architect Kraemer. Those two buildings are still there and either are rented by other companies or just after renewal are waiting for a new life. Actually very few buildings have been removed from the times of the maximum expansion of the factory, in the seventies, at least as far as we can judge from a view from the air published in Claus Prochnow's "Rollei Report Volume 2". But let us start the visit. After a friendly welcome by Herr Kanzer, we start by one of strong tradition and expertise of F&H : fine mechanics. Nowadays, computer numerically controlled (CNC) machines have, for a long time, replaced rows of manually-operated or semi-automated machine tools. Precision is better, shapes that would have been impossible to fabricate are now directly carved into the metal directly from a computer file. The characteristic smell of cutting oil is familiar to those who sometimes enter into a fine mechanics workshop; we can see the stock of die-cast bodies for cameras and projectors, waiting for the machining operations. Then we step up to the mounting/assembly hall were most of the operations are done manually. We have the pleasure to see one of the employees working on one the the new Rollei TLR accessories, already available from specialised dealers: the swap-type twin-lens filter holder. The device, based on the principles of the movable parallelogram, allows to switch a regular threaded filter between the viewing lens and the taking lens. We remember then that the Rollei 2.8 GX and FX TLR are the only cameras where continuous light measurement is "TTLV", i.e. : Through The Viewing Lens. We can see real leather panels waiting for cutting and mounting on the 2.8 FX. For a Rollei enthusiast, it is not necessary to describe the pleasure of manipulating a TLR body before the final mounting and try and understand the secrets of the famous twin-cam focusing system ! This is was good opportunity to ask Herr Kanzer about the re-introduction of the tele-Rolleiflex. The new twin-lens Tele-Rollei was already officially shown at the PMA, Las Vegas in Feb 2006, but there is something all rolleiphiles want to know : did you solve the problem of the minimum focusing distance ? Yes ! he answer with a mysterious smile. We do not want to push him, this year is Photokina Year ! Let us be patient until the official specifications are presented on the final series model ! We can silently watch a lady working on the final quality control of a 6008 camera and we understand the commitment of F&H people to their products. One of the symbols of precision optical and mechanical adjustments are the collimator machines, that all readers of Prochnow's books have seen; the sturdy apparatus are still there, freshly re-calibrated, ready to fine-tune the position of lenses on camera bodies. Various optical test targets (including a very peculiar "in-depth" 3-dimensional target), rolls of test-film that are run into each film magazine, give us an idea of the different operations in quality control. In another room, we can watch an automated FTM test; this reminds us the second business of F&H: fine optics. Since Rollei bought the Voigtländer assets in 1972, Rollei-F&H have acquired a complete lens fabrication know-how. We can also see through a window the modern computer-controlled polishing equipment, in a clean room environment. The last part of the visit was devoted to lacquer and painting, another important operation in the manufacturing of lens and camera equipment. We thank Herr Kanzer for his friendly welcome and continue our visit outside the building. In the backyard we can see the famous brick wall test target used for the calibration of Rolleimetric cameras. One of the famous Rollei buildings, the Kraemer machine shop, has been totally renewed and is waiting for new activities. The main Kraemer Bau building is now rented to several independent companies, including a department of Microtechnology of the Technical University Braunschweig. High precision still rules over there !! No photographic pilgrimage to Braunschweig would be complete without a quick tour to the former Voigtländer factory. Just before visiting Rollei, we had placed a short visit to Campestraße, downtown, the historical place where the Voigtländer company started in Braunschweig in 1849. Before going to the former main Voigtländer factory built in 1915, Dirk-Roger Schmitt wants to show me the place where his family lived, near the Franke und Heidecke Straße, within cycling distance from the Rollei factory. After the war, the company had bought an estate and had built several homes for Rollei employees. The situation is quite similar to what existed in many industrial cities in Europe where families spent all their lives working for the same company living in in homes that were built by the company. Then we proceed to the former Voigtländer factory located in Gliesmarode, a suburb of Braunschweig. The building is still there, occupied by different companies including a car repair shop and a mechanics workshop. Nearby, in Petzvalstraße you can find a specialised camera repair shop. In a restaurant nearby, probably the former Voigtländer canteen, there is a small Voigtländer museum, reminding all the cameras that were manufactured there in one of the biggest German photographic company, as we can see of a vintage view of the factory from the air. That was the end of the tour. Many thanks to Dirk-Roger... and many thanks to the Rollei List for dream made true !! References and suggested readings : A report by Ferdi Stutterheim: Rollei Braunschweig factory visit on May 10-11, 2001 http://www.galerie-photo.com/une-visite-a-l-usine-rollei-us.html (original English version) http://www.galerie-photo.com/une-visite-a-l-usine-rollei-fr.html (translated French version) Claus Prochnow's Web site; information on his books, a comprehensive survey of Rollei and Voigtländer history and products http://www.rollei-report.com -- Emmanuel BIGLER <bigler@xxxxxxxx> --- Rollei List - Post to rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx - Subscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'subscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org - Unsubscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org - Online, searchable archives are available at //www.freelists.org/archives/rollei_list