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Essilor of America continued to pursue its acqusition strategy in 2007. In the first quarter, Essilor purchased two wholesale labs. Beitler McKee Optical, based in Pittsburgh, Pa., ranked 19th among VM’s Top Independent Wholesale Labs in 2006, with Rx sales of $9.8 million. The second lab, Personal Eyes of Minneapolis, Minn was formerly owned by Pat Shea; the lab has annual revenue of $2 million and 14 employees.

In July, Essilor bought a majority stake in Sutherlin Optical, which is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo. and operates a branch in Joplin, Mo. The management team consisting of brothers Steve Sutherlin, Mike Sutherlin and John Sutherlin remains in place. Sutherlin Optical ranked 12th among Vision Monday’s Top 25 Independent Wholesale Labs in 2006.

Also in July, Essilor also acquired the assets of the safety division of Dispensers Optical Service in Louisville, Ky. The safety business generates $5 million in annual revenue, according to Essilor.

In addition to buying labs, Essilor acquired of a majority stake in contact lens distributor OOGP and its buying group. The move represents Essilor’s first venture into the buying group business.

Also in 2007, Real Goulet replaced John Carrier as president of Essilor Laboratories of America. Carrier was named president of Essilor of America. Goulet had previously served as senior vice president for national labs and the Northeast region.

In April, Hoya Vision Care acquired Volunteer Optical, a Knoxville, Tenn. lab owned by the Morgan family. Volunteer had estimated gross sales of approximately $2.7 million in 2006. The lab has 26 employees and derives sales from customers primarily in Tennessee and Kentucky.

In October, VSP Vision Care purchased Legends 4.0 Optical in Lewisville, Texas. Founded in 2005 by the Benedict family, Legends 4.0 is the 14th largest of the Top 25 independent U.S. optical laboratories in 2007. (VM is classifying Legends 4.0 as an independent lab this year since the 2007 Top Labs survey was complied prior to Legends’ acquisition by VSP.) The acquisition represents the latest move by VSP to create a network of company-owned labs that will operate in addition to its existing network of 289 contract labs.

In February, Carl Zeiss Vision appointed Frederick Howard president and general manager, Americas. He replaced Dr. Barry Packham, who has moved into the newly created role of executive vice president, global operations.
--Andrew Karp