The story
In HEINE & Co. Medizinisch-Physikalische Werkstätten GmbH, owner Helmut A. Heine initially manufactured otoscopes and direct ophthalmoscopes from 1946 (when he established the company). Many materials and commodities were in short supply in Germany, which was still being rebuilt at the time. Therefore, he improvised and used commodities that were available during the post-war turmoil to make the first diagnostic instrument: empty and thus sustainably recyclable cartridge cases.
In 2020 the entire company moved from its former headquarters in Herrsching to newly built corporate headquarters in Gilching, just outside Munich. All of the corporate divisions, such as Development, Tool Construction, Optics and other production-related divisions, not to mention Administration, are now located under the same roof in the new building.
From Wikipedia’s article on Heine Optotechnik, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4