Products & ideas for the laboratory professional.
Issue link: https://opticallabproducts.epubxp.com/i/92532
INTRODUCTION LAB INNOVATOR OF 2012 Repeat Performance FOR THREE well-educated individuals, graduates from Syracuse University (Go Big Orange!), and all with business successes outside of the optical industry, the Cotran brothers, Ralph, Ronald, and Robert, seemed to show poor business judgment when they bought an almost failed business, Onondaga Optical, in 1986. The equipment at the lab in East Syracuse, NY, was outdated and not well maintained and the core business was down to 80 jobs a day. They changed the name to Optogen- ics and subsequently built one of the larger, more successful, uncut busi- nesses competing with the best that New York and Florida had to offer. By the time the Cotran brothers sold Optogenics to Essilor of America, Inc. in 1999, the lab was shipping over 1,500 jobs a day. Not bad for an economist and a couple of engineers. They stayed on at Optogenics (working for Essilor) until 2007 when they decided to re-enter the optical industry as owners once again. The Cotran brothers opened US Optical, LLC on March 3, 2008 and this time it only took them four years to grow an entirely different business model to 1,500 jobs a day. The ophthalmic wholesale laboratory business is contracting, and yet the brothers have bucked the trend. They have validated the classic entrepreneur- ial enterprise model by taking risks and using good ideas with excellent execution to build a successful business. Ralph, Ronald, and Robert are even expanding the lab by another 7,500 sq. ft. because demand is so high for their products. And they are adding a fourth free-form line and opening a new Crizal® Center in March 2013. Rather than copy their previous uncut model, they studied the industry and opened a highly automated, multi-axis, totallyoptical.com free-form laboratory featuring MEI System multi-axis machinery for finishing, plus in-house anti-reflective (AR) treatments. Now "old" edging and surfacing technology is only used for special jobs with CNC (Computer Numeric Control) equipment for even spheres, cylinders, and regular shapes. The Cotrans maintained an aggres- sive direct mail plan they had previously used but also added dedicated marketing representatives in targeted geographical areas. They have turned their dedication to value pricing, high quality, and being the "Fastest Lab in America™ " with 24-hour turnaround on all free-form— even with AR! Doing it all over again can be a good business model and more than enough to justify our recognition of US Optical as Lab Innovator of 2012. Jim Grootegoed is Professional Editor of Optical Lab Products. november 2012 A3