Essilor to launch a new production line for standard ophthalmic lenses at its Dijon plant (France)

Charenton le Pont, France, 8-4-2013 — /europawire.eu/ — Essilor, the world leader in ophthalmic optics, inaugurates a new production line for standard ophthalmic lenses at its Dijon plant (France). This investment of over four million euros in high-tech industrial processes illustrates the group’s commitment to high-performance French manufacturing.

A new production line for high-tech lenses
The new production line is used to manufacture single-vision high-index corrective lenses (i.e. very thin lenses for the correction of such visual defects as myopia or hypermetropia) marketed under the Airwear®, Ormix® and Stylis® brand names.

The new cutting-edge industrial processes implemented at the Dijon plant consist of a new line for hard coating (ensuring lens resistance and protection) and vacuum coating (providing anti-reflective and anti-UV properties), thus permitting the manufacture of highperformance lenses.

Essilor’s global network ensures close-to-market service
This investment contributes to strengthening Essilor’s position on the French market where the group has 11 production sites and is currently finalizing the construction of an Innovation and Technology Centre in Créteil. The Group’s industrial footprint also includes a network of locally based prescription laboratories, ensuring the delivery of highperformance and innovative lenses in record time.

“This inauguration reflects Essilor’s commitment to high-quality French manufacturing. Essilor is an industrial group that has successfully developed and exported its expertise to  support its worldwide development. This investment in Dijon illustrates our determination to continue our tradition of industrial performance, which has been a part of our DNA for over 160 years,” stated Essilor France Managing Director, Nicolas de Lambert.

OFG labeled lenses
As a French firm, Essilor has chosen to underline its commitment to French quality in the optical industry by obtaining the OFG (Guaranteed French Origin) label for its products; the OFG seal is the market’s most demanding label.

This label, certified by Bureau Veritas, assures consumers that the essential
characteristics of the product were implemented in France. It will be affixed to all products produced by the new production line in Dijon.

What are the criteria for obtaining the label?

To obtain this certification, Essilor had to meet two binding criteria:
– The product must take on its essential characteristics in France. For a single-vision lens, this means that it must be injected, polymerized or surfaced in France.
– The product must acquire over 50% of its unit cost price in France.
Compliance with these criteria was subjected to a series of checks by the independent audit body Bureau Veritas. An on-site audit is performed annually.
This approach meets the expectations of consumers, who are increasingly demanding about the origin and traceability of products made in France.

About Essilor
The world’s leading ophthalmic optics company, Essilor designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of lenses to improve and protect eyesight. Its corporate mission is to enable everyone around the world to access lenses that meet his or her unique vision requirements. To support this mission, the Company allocates more than €150 million to research and innovation every year, in a commitment to continuously bring new, more effective products to market. Essilor’s flagship brands are Varilux®, Crizal®, Definity®, Xperio®, Optifog™ and Foster Grant®. It also develops and markets equipment, instruments and services for eyecare professionals.

Essilor reported consolidated revenue of approximately €5 billion in 2012 and employs around 50,700 people in some 100 countries. It operates 22 plants, more than 400 prescription laboratories and edging facilities, as well as
several research and development centers around the world.

For more information, please visit www.essilor.com.

The Essilor share trades on the NYSE Euronext Paris market and is included in the EuroStoxx 50 and CAC 40 indices. Codes and symbols: ISIN: FR FR0000121667; Reuters: ESSI.PA; Bloomberg: EI:FP.

Press contact: Maïlis Thiercelin
Tel.: + 33 (0)1 49 77 45 02