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january 2015 9 opticallabproducts.com CHERRY OPTICAL FEATURE addition, the lab bought the manually operated CCP Swift polishers, as well as a CCL laser, and CB Bond alloy blocker. In the frst full year, the lab used digital surfacing to run cut to polish. Free-form designs began 10 months into the process. "We started lowering the number of jobs we were outsourcing to other labs," Cherry states. "Our custom- ers began to notice our consistent quality and our improved level of service. We made the decision to utilize the technology as much as possible." Technicians at the lab learned how to fne-tune the various aspects of digital surfacing such as process control, calibration procedures, and how room/lab temperatures affect precision. "Digital surfacing is a different world—there are no tricks," Cherry notes. The lab now produces all major free-form designs on-site. It continues to buy free-form equipment from Schneider and has spent $1.2 million to date. "We're a smaller, independent, family-owned lab that continues to invest in Schneider equipment which we believe is the best," Cherry says. "Independent labs have a role and a future and Schneider allows us to compete with the super large, corporate- controlled laboratory networks." Now the lab can get free-form products to its customers within several hours if required. PLANS ON THE HORIZON This February the lab is adding Schneider's HSC Smart XP digital generator and the Swift CCP 103 polisher in a newly completed building extension. "We're really excited about it," Cherry asserts. "We'll get capacity and effciency gains from the outset." Using the current generator and two polishers, Cherry Optical can surface 40 lenses an hour. With the new generator and new polisher it should do over 100 lenses an hour. "Our growth dictated it was time to upgrade," Cherry explains. He also believes he needs a second genera- tor for redundancy. The lab couldn't afford to have its only generator go down. The lab now offers 24-hour production in several shifts and, in 2012, invested $1 million to open an on-site Crizal ® AR coating facility. Cherry Optical's mission is to grow at a pace that fts its culture while continuing to maintain quality standards. "Our company is successful and proftable and so the monetary risk of re-investing in this new technology is low," Cherry notes. "The future for us is in fnding the right customers who are looking for the highest quality and service with integrity." In the near term, the plan for this mid- western lab is to continue to control its own growth with unique plans for AR coatings, Rx sunwear, and in making optical lenses as perfect as possible! Carol Gilhawley is Editor-In-Chief of OLP. Adam Cherry presents Schneider Optical Machines with a million-dollar check for new digital equipment. From left to right: Florian Kloes, Gunter Schneider, Adam Cherry, Kurt Atchison, and Michelle Hoang. Kim Lockett, HR manager at Cherry Optical. Using the current generator and two polishers, Cherry Optical can surface 40 lenses an hour. With the new generator and new polisher it should do over 100 lenses an hour. Cherry Optical's mission is to grow at a pace that fts its culture and continue to maintain quality standards. Adam Cherry, president of Cherry Optical.