Don’t Fail to Plan

Many of us make resolutions this time of year. We vow to get in shape, quit smoking, spend more time with family, get our finances in order and lose holiday pounds. Through we resolve to make these changes, few of us actually follow through. The reason is our failure to make a plan.

The same scenario plays out in business. Have you established a plan to achieve your goals for the new year?

Many of the past Dollars & Sense articles have dealt with the budgeting and planning process can be found in the Lab Advisor archive (see link above), but here is a quick review. 1) Compare most recent results to historical results; 2) set sales goals for the next year; 3) develop a sales and marketing plan designed to achieve those sales goals; 4) develop a budget for the plan; 5) implement the plan; 6) review interim results against the budget and make adjustments to the plan if necessary.

Budgeting and planning often begin in the last quarter before the next year. If you haven’t made a plan for this year yet, it is not too late, but get started before your resolutions become just ideals you wish you could achieve.

—Jason A. Meyer is senior vice president, HPC Puckett & Company. Based in San Diego, Calif., HPC Puckett & Company specializes in mergers and acquisitions of wholesale optical laboratories. You can send comments or questions about this article or any other Dollars & Sense articles to Jason Meyer at [email protected].

POG Fights Cancer With Courage Coating

Precision Optical Group Labs (P.O.G.) is launching a new marketing initiative aimed at fighting cancer. The Creston, Iowa-based wholesale lab is contributing two dollars to the American Cancer Society for each pair of lenses made with its proprietary Courage Coating.

Courage Coating is available with or with out anti-reflective coating. Each order of Courage Coating is delivered with a cleaning cloth, authenticity card and a Courage to Fight Cancer bracelet.

P.O.G. Labs is the only authorized distributor of Courage Coating.

Provow, Robinson Join Robertson Optical Laboratories

David Provow, a 22-year optical industry veteran, has joined Robertson Optical Laboratories of Columbia, S.C. as lab manager. He is the former director of lab harmonization of Carl Zeiss Vision, where he was in charge of standardizing the processes for 17 North American and 10 South American labs. Part of his role was to identify and implement best practices in the labs. Prior to Zeiss, he was chief operating officer of Rodenstock, North America.

Lou Robinson has started as a new sales representative for Robertson Optical Laboratories of Atlanta, Ga., serving central and northern Florida. Robinson’s optical career spans four decades. Most recently, he worked for Apex Optical Laboratories of Orlando. Fla. Prior to Apex, he was an independent sales rep with May Optical and Rally Optical.

Optical Lab Veteran Jeffrey Kosh Dies

Optical lab industry veteran Jeffrey Kosh passed away in Weston, Fla. on Dec. 11 after a bout with pneumonia and subsequent complications. He was 56 years old and lived in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Kosh and his brother Stuart were owners of Kosh Ophthalmic, a wholesale laboratory in Pompano Beach, Fla. The laboratory was founded in New York in 1925 by Kosh grandfather, Louis Herman Kosh and his brother, Abe. It was later owned and operated by Louis’s son, Allen Kosh, who was Jeffrey and Stuart’s father. The lab is currently owned by Essilor.

Kosh was a past president of the Optical Laboratories Association. Like his father, he was a longtime member of the American National Standards Institute committees that set performance standards for ophthalmic products.

Kosh is survived by his wife Mindy, two step-children, his brother Stuart and his mother.

Plunkett Optical Adds Crizal Technology

Essilor of America recently completed the technology transfer of its patented Crizal process at Fort Smith, Arkansas-based Plunkett Optical. With access to Essilor’s Crizal EXT technology, Plunkett can now fully manufacture Crizal lenses, including Crizal, Crizal Alizé and the new Crizal Avancé lenses with Scotchgard Protector.

Robert Westlake @ Harbor Optical

In 1997 Harbor Optical opened its doors in Traverse City, Michigan with the goal of becoming one of the nation's premiere optical labs. As an independent lab, Harbor Optical has seen continued growth and become a trusted resource and business partner to many eyecare professionals. Much of this progress reflects the leadership of director of operations, Robert Westlake.

As part of the initial Harbor Optical team, Westlake was responsible for building the lab structure and setting up equipment while lab president Geff Heidbrink traveled the territory to build a customer base. Today, Westlake runs the lab operations, including manufacturing, personal management, equipment and material purchases. He also is involved in Harbor’s sales and marketing initiatives.

“From the beginning we have strived to create a culture that helps our people be the best they can be both personally and professionally,” said Westlake.

A typical day in Westlake’s schedule is hardly routine. His time is utilized by helping solve difficult prescriptions or recommending products to be used in special circumstances. Other days Westlake can be found troubleshooting equipment problems or personnel issues, planning new programs or lab procedures.

“The only typical thing is there are never enough hours in a day,” said Westlake.

Westlake started his career in the optical industry at American Optical in the mid-1970s. As his career progressed, Westlake held several management positions that took him around Michigan and to Iowa before settling with his family in Traverse City.—Amanda Barry

LabTalk Spotlight   January 2010

The Digital Surfacing Explosion: How This Big Bang Can Benefit Your Lab
Two decades ago, the World Wide Web was merely a great idea that held much promise. Since its debut in 1991, however, the Internet has virtually exploded—proving to be the greatest telecommunication breakthrough since the telephone. Today, we all know the Web is now an indispensable tool for education, business and entertainment.

An equally stunning breakthrough is at work today in the optical lens world—digitally surfaced lenses. This technology is taking the industry by storm, with more and more labs adopting digital surfacing hardware every day.

“The transition can best be described as an explosion,” said Ian Gregg, director of surfacing products for Satisloh North America. “I think labs are looking at the lessons of AR and realizing that they need to get in the game, or risk being further marginalized in the market.”

Kurt Atchison, president of Schneider Optical Machines agrees wholeheartedly. “The rapid move to digital surfacing platforms is spreading like wildfire,” he said. “Labs are either already doing it or deciding when they will do it. I think they see the push and know they’re no longer a guinea-pig lab.”

“With proven success out there, now is the time to adopt the technology while it’s still on a strong growth curve and more profitable than ever—not unlike AR coating or polycarbonate production phases were in the past. A lot of people think they waited too long to jump into AR coating. By the time they were in and good at it, the competition had outrun them. Most labs realize that free-form will grow faster than AR ever did. Just as importantly, digital surfacing generators can help labs make progressives—as well as all production on digital lines. In terms of benefits, it’s a double-whammy.”

To learn five trends in digital surfacing that could influence your decision to add free-form to your menu of services, log onto www.labtalkonline.com where you will find The Digital Surfacing Explosion, listed under the Features section.