KAHLES – since 1898

KAHLES is an Austrian-based subsidiary of Swarovski Optik that primarily manufactures sports optics such as binoculars, rifle scopes, rangefinders and red dot sights. Founded in 1898, the company has a long history associated with its current position in the sports optics market. The company's manufacturing facility is located in Vienna, Austria, where the company has existed since its beginnings.

Merger of the Simon Plossl company and Karl Fritsch's workshop

Austrian optics manufacturer Karl Robert Kahles founded KAHLES in 1898, the result of the merger of two Vienna-based optics manufacturers, the Simon Plossl company and the optomechanical workshop of Karl Fritsch. Karl Fritsch's workshop produced, among other things, one of the best telescopes and microscopes of the time. Simon Plossl's workshop, founded in 1823, was very successful with the development and manufacture of microscopes and telescopes. Simon Plossl's colour-correcting lens system and the characteristic Plossl telescope eyepiece revolutionised the optics industry and many modern optical systems follow his inventions to this day.

The first riflescope

The company initially focused on manufacturing telescopes and binoculars for astronomy, but soon after its founding, KAHLES invented the first rifle scope in 1900, making it the oldest rifle scope manufacturer in the world. The first rifle scope, the TELORAR, came in five different magnifications and immediately became a favourite among hunters all over Europe. After the development of TELORAR, the company patented a number of rifle scope features that have since been used by many rifle scope manufacturers around the world.

Second generation

In 1908, the owner Karl Robert Kahles died unexpectedly and left the company to his sons Ernst and Karl Kahles. The second generation followed in the owner's footsteps and ran the company with a focus on the pillars of innovation and quality. Thus, in 1926, the company launched the first riflescope in the HELIA series.

Helia binoculars

A few years ago, the company resumed the production of binoculars. Following the immense success of the riflescope business, SWAROVSKI OPTIK acquired KAHLES from the Swarovski Group in 1974. As a pioneer in rifle scope technology, the KAHLES brand strengthened Swarovski's rifle scope technology.

After the death of Friedrich Kahles in 1977, the KAHLES brand was recognised as a branch of Swarovski Optik, but given its popularity with the masses, the company was declared a separate business unit in 1989.

Corporate headquarters Guntramsdorf, Lower Austria, Austria

KAHLES opened a new factory in the town of Guntramsdorf in the province of Lower Austria near the city of Vienna. The factory was designed as a "green" facility with much consideration for the environment. As a subsidiary of the Swarovski Group, KAHLES works closely with Swarovski Optik in the development and manufacture of rifle scopes, rangefinders, optical sights and binoculars.

Thanks to the close relationship with the Swarovski Group, KAHLES can source some manufacturing parts, such as glass components, from Swarovski Optik to streamline the production of the rifle scopes. The assembly and maintenance of the riflescopes still takes place in the Guntramsdorf factory. The assembly area is atmospherically controlled to protect the scope assemblies from contamination. The components manufactured in Austria are labelled "Made in Austria".