OXFORD, U.K.—Adlens executives and their guests clinked wine glasses and raised toasts at the opening of the company’s new manufacturing facility in Oxford, U.K. on Nov. 21. The facility, known as the Variable Power Optics Centre (VPOC), will produce Adlens Focuss, the latest addition to Adlens’s line of variable focus eyewear.

“Adlens was founded in 2005 in Oxford and we are pleased to continue tapping into the U.K. talent pool and supply chain to design and manufacture a game-changing product like Adlens Focuss,” Michael C. Ferrara, CEO and executive chairman of Adlens told guests, including representatives from local businesses, national government, the optical industry and press. “While we are celebrating this milestone today in a community deeply connected to our roots, the evolution of our eyewear technology will have significant impact on the lives of many who wear progressives worldwide.”

Adlens Focuss delivers a full field of vision by allowing wearers to turn a small dial on the inside of the temple arm to adjust their prescription to a range of customized powers. Advances in Adlens’ current technology have also led to key design enhancements, making Adlens Focuss the company’s most fashion-forward product to date.

However, Ferrara told VM that Adlens is already looking ahead to the next generation of Focuss. “This is iPhone 1,” he said. “Long term, we’re looking to make this thinner and lighter.”

In addition to focusing on the production of Adlens Focuss, the VPOC will provide an innovation base for Adlens as the company continues to expand and improve upon its offerings. The VPOC is critical to enhancing Adlens’ capacity to meet demands for eyewear technology generated by partnerships with optical retailers, Adlens said. LensCrafters, the largest optical retailer in the U.S. will have retail exclusivity on Adlens Focuss through the first half of 2014. ■

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At the opening of the VPOC, Adlens CEO and president Michael C. Ferrara (l) listens to remarks by Oxford graduate and working peer, Lord Faulkner of Worcester. At right are Adlens chief technology officer Rob Stevens, PhD, and Adlens co-founder and owner James Chen.

Adlens VP of operations, Frank Lavety, invites guests to tour the VPOC.

Adlens’s Tom Worsley holds a special variable focus lens module, the central feature of Focuss eyewear.

Christine Fraser, director of customer success for Adlens, shows visitors a Focuss retail display.

Adlens Focuss delivers a full field of vision to progressive lens wearers by allowing them to turn a small dial on the inside of the temple arm to adjust their prescription to a range of customized powers.

During a tour of Adlens’s R and D center in Oxford, Rob Stevens, PhD, the company’s chief technology officer, explains how his team developed the proprietary technology used in Focuss eyewear.

Adlens’s director of industry affairs, Graeme MacKenzie, OD spoke about the company’s technology in more detail at Rhodes House in Oxford later that evening.

The Adlens board of directors met at the company’s headquarters in Oxford. (L to R) Mike Nuttal, Michael C. Ferrara, James Chen, Dean Butler (not pictured: Hamilton Tang).