​Julie Ryan of Zeiss explains the lab’s customer service function.
(L to R) Carl Zeiss Vision CEO Uli Krauss with Greg Schober, OD, Sandra Sabo, Romy Adams and Mauri Bauer, OD of Macadam Vision Clinic, Portland, Ore. Carl Zeiss Vision president Joe Donahoe (r) with Vivian Hernandez and Jenn Toledo of Golden Hills Optometry, San Jose, Calif.
SAN DIEGO—Eyecare professionals from throughout the western U.S. visited the Carl Zeiss Vision-Northwest lab on March 20 to celebrate the completion of Zeiss’s two-year, $4 million upgrade of the facility.

The extensive renovation of one of Zeiss’s flagship labs includes state-of-the-art freeform surfacing and coating equipment, a rearrangement of the production floor to improve workflow, and a redesign of office space. All lens jobs are now surfaced using freeform generators, and overall lab capacity has been more than doubled.

The lab is staffed by 160 employees working three shifts Monday through Friday, supported by 10 dedicated customer service representatives, and is now capable of fabricating well over a million lenses per year.

Over 100 eyecare professionals and family members from six western states, including Alaska and Hawaii, visited the lab in the Portland suburb of Clackamas, Oregon to see the results of the renovation. They were treated to live music, lab tours, and the opportunity to experience the i.Terminal 2 centration device, and i.ProfilerPlus, ZEISS’s wavefront aberrometer/autorefractor/corneal topographer, which is used to make i.Scription lenses for improved low-light vision.

“Translating the doctor’s prescription into a great visual experience for the patient requires three things: outstanding designs, advanced personalization and competitive lab service,” said Ulrich Krauss, Carl Zeiss Vision’s CEO-North America.

“CZV-Northwest and the other labs in our network allow us to provide all three while maintaining a very close relationship with our ECP customers. We are glad to be able to bring them together at the lab to show our appreciation for their support,” he said.

Dan Robison, OD of Cascadia Eye Center in Lake Oswego, Ore., who attended the event said, “I was very impressed by the lab and the expertise of the people who work there. I could see the focus on advanced technology, precision and quality, which is what attracted us to Zeiss in the first place.” ■