july 2015 1
opticallabproducts.com
OPINIONS
03 rollins on marketing
04 in the lab
06 one-to-one with steve swalgen,
national director–lab business, santinelli international, inc.
FEATURES
08 alternative revenue streams can boost the bottom line
12 a multi-faceted business approach
16 highlights from the 2015 cola spring meeting
RUNDOWN
17 lab news
19 new for the lab
NECESSITY IS the mother of invention.
This well-worn English proverb has been around for
centuries. But in today's modern business world, it also takes
on a more threatening meaning: Reinvent yourself or else.
Independent labs are known for their resourcefulness;
those who haven't invested or changed their business
model well beyond their comfort levels are no longer
with us. This issue of OLP is essentially about that:
Reinvention. Still, this is far from the frst time necessity brought change to
our industry. Frames were once a big part of most labs' business until the
"direct" sellers usurped that proft center for most labs in the '70s and '80s.
Back when plastic lenses became more widely used because of the ANSI
drop-ball standard (among other benefts), labs were tearing their collective
hair out.
Polycarbonate was our next challenge. I have personally "broken" more
poly than almost anyone in the early days while learning how to process
that beast. Now it accounts for over half the industry's business, and its
breakage is equivalent to other materials. High-index lenses followed with
similar problems, but some labs grabbed onto the concept and promoted
their ability to provide them in a timely manner, at a premium, and gained
market share. The same thing happened with Trivex
®
material.
Silhouette Optical, Ltd.'s pressure fttings were revolutionary and had a
learning curve, but certain labs applied themselves fguring out how to
assemble and promote the product; some even provided custom dispensing
packaging to highlight the value.
Of course, free-form and AR are huge but require a substantial monetary
investment. I know of one independent lab that purchased both while doing
under 100 jobs a day. Were they reckless, or preparing for the future?
Eyenavision, Inc.'s unique Chemistrie magnetic clip-on lenses was
another product opportunity that certain labs recognized and ran with early,
gaining additional sales and profts. And these days, every major lens
manufacturer has come out with its version of a blue-light blocker.
Out of necessity, these labs saw opportunities. Are you doing likewise?
JIM GROOTEGOED
Professional Editor
EDITORIAL STAFF
VICE PRESIDENT, EDITORIAL Beth Schlau
beth@visioncareproducts.com
PROFESSIONAL EDITOR Jim Grootegoed
jg@visioncareproducts.com
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Steve Curry
sc@visioncareproducts.com
VICE PRESIDENT, DESIGN Jane Kaplan
jk@visioncareproducts.com
SENIOR ART DIRECTOR Diane Cuddy
diane@visioncareproducts.com
ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR/
DIGITAL CONTENT COORDINATOR Andrew Jackson
aj@visioncareproducts.com
PRODUCTION & WEB MANAGER Anthony Floreno
af@visioncareproducts.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Eric Rollins, Meghan Kalvig,
Lori Treadwell
BUSINESS STAFF
PRESIDENT/CEO Frank Giammanco
fg@visioncareproducts.com
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Shawn Mery
sm@visioncareproducts.com
DIRECTOR OF SALES Janet Cunningham
jc@visioncareproducts.com
VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING Debby Corriveau
dc@visioncareproducts.com
VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS Sharon O'Hanlon
so@visioncareproducts.com
Reinventing the Wheel
JULY 2015 CONTENTS
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ON THE COVER:
Gunter Schneider, President of Schneider Optical Machines, at DigiCon 2015.