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P R O D U C T S One-to-One • PG 4
Product Focus • PG 6
LAB INNOVATOR
Lab News• PG 17
2 019
PG 7
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In The Lab
CONTENTS
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
OPINIONS
OPINIONS 01 02
In the Lab
04
One-to-One with Jeff Grumbling
Rollins on Marketing
FEATURES 03
Advisory Board Member Profile: Neil Torgersen
06
Product Focus: Coburn Technologies’ DualityAR
07
Lab Innovator: FEA Industries, Inc
15
Becoming a Camber-Enabled Lab
RUNDOWN 16 17
New for the Lab Lab News
EDITORIAL STAFF VP, EDITORIAL | John Sailer • JSailer@FVMG.com EDITOR | Cara Aidone Huzinec • CHuzinec@FVMG.com ART DIRECTOR, PRODUCTION & WEB MANAGER | Megan LaSalla • MLaSalla@FVMG.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS | Eric Rollins • EricRollins@Comcast.net ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS | Ronald Cooke, Jr. • William Heffner, IV Don Kirman • Kenneth Lin • Tom Schroeder • Neil Torgersen
BUSINESS STAFF PUBLISHER | Terry Tanker • TTanker@FVMG.com REGIONAL SALES MANAGER | Eric Hagerman • EHagerman@FVMG.com
www.Facebook.com/OpticalLabProducts www.Twitter.com/OLP_Magazine www.Linkedin.com/company/Optical-Lab-Products
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And the INNOVATOR IS...
I
nnovator, creator, pioneer, trailblazer...all pretty much have the same meaning. So, which wholesale lab epitomized innovator to OLP this year? FEA Industries. What started in the basement of Bill Heffner’s house — FEA Industries — based in the Philadelphia suburb of Morton, PA, now takes up three buildings in this town: one for AR, one for finishing and one dedicated to surfacing, all with the state-of-the-art equipment one would expect from a lab innovator. Big space? Yes. Automated? You bet. But what sets FEA apart is its owner. Heffner grew up in the industry and founded FEA really, as he said, because he thought it would be fun. Heffner’s love of the business is evident, from his investment in his employees to the equipment he uses to produce top quality products for his customers. OLP spent a day out in Morton, touring the facilities and meeting with Heffner, his son Bill (or “Other Bill” as he’s known), FEA’s general manager Chrystal Colflesh and operations director John Jorgensen. They’re a dedicated group who work diligently to provide customers, and ultimately patients, with easy
ordering, fast turnaround and streamlined customer service. We hope you enjoy the interview and get a glimpse of how this lab runs its day-to-day operations. You may even learn, once and for all, what FEA really stands for. Congratulations, FEA! And that’s not all in this issue. OLP also interviewed Jeff Grumbling of OptoTech, who told us what’s in store for the German-based company and its newly released automated solutions (see page 4), some which OLP had the chance to see in action at Vision Expo West, along with new technologies from Schneider Optical Machines and Satisloh; new photochromics from IOT (see New for the Lab on page 16). Vision Expo West was the place for any lab to be, and the Lab Division’s Hall of Fame banquet didn’t disappoint this year (see page 17). It’s always a special night to see peers celebrate and honor each other’s achievements.
Cara Huzinec is Editor of OLP. CHuzinec@FVMG.com.
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
1
OPINIONS
Rollins on Marketing
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) technology or product that seemed like it was a long way off before it actually hit our marketplace.
By Eric Rollins
W
hile at Vision Expo West in Las Vegas, I was ruminating on all of the changes we have seen in the eyecare industry since my introduction to the field in 1984. Many of the changes first came to us as news articles about some new
The first huge game-changer that comes to mind is the World Wide Web. I was surveyed in about 1996 or so and asked how much of our laboratory’s business would come by way of the internet in the next five years. I correctly said less than one percent, but if it had asked how much in 10 years, I would have been way off. The old way of ordering lenses for our customers was the “new tech” of sending in faxes, with another large percentage of orders coming by phone. We had an amazing customer service department with knowledgeable, friendly staff that took great care of our customers. Look at how ordering
in Eyecare
lenses progressed: paper orders shipped in to the lab » phone orders called in to the lab » faxes sent in to the lab » internet orders online to the lab. With every technological change, business results were faster, better and cheaper. The next “big thing” on the horizon is artificial intelligence, or AI. AI has already made its way into medicine, with image screenings on the forefront (such as retinal image scans, X-rays, etc.). In the optical laboratory sector, AI will have a huge impact on quality control as lens scanning and machine learning improve the output of digital production systems. It will be better, faster and cheaper than our current modes of quality control.
One thing that won’t change: No matter the system, it is vitally important to have welltrained, knowledgeable and friendly people surrounding technology. People will continue to be the glue that holds your client’s business relationship together. The old adage will continue to be true: People do business with people they like.
Eric Rollins is a veteran of the optical retail, frame and lab industries. His firm, Rollins Consulting, LLC, consults with the three Os to improve profitability. Email him at EricRollins@Comcast.net.
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Neil Torgersen
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
OLP WELCOMES
NEIL TORGERSEN,
TO ITS ADVISORY BOARD Walman Optical’s Neil Torgersen spent summers learning the lab business. Now he runs the lab’s entire AR coating operation. A summer job back in 1997 turned into a career for Neil Torgersen, national manager of AR coating operations at Walman Optical in Brooklyn Park, MN. “I spent four years during summers and school breaks performing nearly all tasks in the lab, from customer service to lens stock and all the way to backside coating,” Torgersen told OLP. In 2004, he was recruited to manage Walman’s ZEISS AR coating lab, which processed about 400 to 450 jobs at the time. Over the next 15 years, Torgersen was instrumental in increasing the coating lab’s capacity and increasing the number of coatings Walman produces inhouse, which is currently 47 different coatings from five vendors just at Brooklyn Park, which ships roughly 5,500 jobs each day. Torgersen oversaw the design, construction and implementation of the 50,000-square-foot Brooklyn Park facility, Walman’s flagship lab. “We spent more than a year planning the facility and how to effectively expand it when needed without hindering production more than necessary,” Torgersen said. “As the years have gone by, I have been the point person for all expansions in the coating lab — coordinating construction, delivery and installation of all equipment while minimizing impacts to our quality and service.”
AR: THEN AND NOW
“The thing that excites me about the future of the wholesale lab business is the same thing that scares me: the enormous array of new products that are launched on a regular basis.” effectively manage and run an AR department. “Due to the nature of dip coating and AR coating, it is essential to keep dust and particulates to an absolute minimum in the lab,” he said. “Consistency in process and environment is crucial to produce repeatable, high quality coatings, and there are many environmental factors that contribute to the physical properties of a hard coat or AR coat. From a management perspective, coaching your team and working with them to understand the entire process helps them to appreciate each step and why it is so important to the overall final product.”
Torgersen said AR has significantly changed in 15 years.
FUTURE OF WHOLESALE
“While a lot of the technology was available back then, it has since become more mainstream, resulting in more consistent, higher quality coatings,” he said. “Many ECPs will say when they present AR coatings to some customers, they often hear: ‘I tried that years ago but it scratched easily and was impossible to keep clean.’”
“The thing that excites me about the future of the wholesale lab business is the same thing that scares me: the enormous array of new products that are launched on a regular basis,” he said.
Higher quality adhesion technology combined with super hydrophobic and oleophobic coatings are now the norm, Torgersen said. Antistatic layers inside the AR coating stack result in lenses that require easier (and less frequent) cleaning.
KEYS TO SUCCESS: THE TWO “C’s” Cleanliness and consistency are the two most critical components to
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Torgersen said lens and coating vendors and equipment manufacturers are working to create solutions, whether to provide patients with long term eye health or to help labs produce products faster and more efficiently. “The challenge to wholesale labs is to be able to efficiently produce all of these different products and also educate ECPs and ultimately the end-users of the differences between the myriad of options available in today’s ophthalmic market,” he said.
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
3
ONE TO ONE: JEFF GRUMBLING
Q&A Q: How did you get
started in the optical industry and how long have you been with OptoTech?
A: I started my career in the retail optical sector with Pearle Vision 1989, in Pittsburgh, PA. I have been in the industry 30 years this year and with OptoTech for five years.
Q: Optotech
manufactures various machinery for lens processing, plus its own lens designs. What does OptoTech equipment provide labs that makes it different from other equipment suppliers?
A: Because OptoTech is the worldwide leader in precision optics, we are always focused on the quality of each lens produced on our machines. Our surface quality and lens design integrity are exceptional. We are all about quality optics.
Q: What trends have
you observed among those investing in equipment these days?
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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
Jeff Grumbling, president of OptoTech, talked to OLP about new products, automation and the company’s recent acquisition.
We are very focused on finding ways to bring higher levels of automation that are easy to use. It’s very important that automation be user friendly. It can’t be complicated, but it must exceed expectations. A: Automation is becoming more acceptable — it’s all about maximizing productivity and the return on investment. It’s about consistency and reliability. Automation brings significant value to the investment process.
Q: Tell us what
technology Optotech launched at Vision Expo West and what features you’re particularly excited about.
A: Our IQ Logic system, which integrates our IQ Star tower and our smart conveyors, is a big win for us. This is a great way to automate any size lab, big or small, with quiet conveyors that use one-third the energy of the competitors. These conveyors only run when a machine needs a job tray, not all the time like typical noisy conveyor systems. This, combined with our IQ
Logic to manage the trays, ensures high levels of productivity throughout the lab and the ability to monitor and control all aspects of preventive maintenance and quality throughout the lab. The IQ system can be easily and inexpensively reconfigured to adapt to layout changes as the lab grows.
Q: You introduced a new generator and free-form polisher in 2019. What new capabilities do they offer that weren’t available before?
A: Our “Next Generation” Flash Generator provides superior surface quality, the ability to produce approximately 40 pair of lenses per hour and the ability to produce a very broad range of power. This machine is faster due to the new Beckhoff AX-Servo controller, which drives the Fast-Tool. Our ASP
Twin Auto Polisher is a very fast machine as well, capable of producing more than 40 pair of lenses per hour. This polisher provides the highest quality lens surface while ensuring lens design integrity. It’s an awesome machine with a low cost of operation.
Q: Where do you think lens manufacturing is heading in terms of automation?
A: Continued advancement. We are very focused on finding ways to bring higher levels of automation that are easy to use. It’s very important that automation be user friendly. It can’t be complicated, but it must exceed expectations. OptoTech automation can also be run form your I-Pad. It will only get better.
Q: Tell us a bit more
about lens designs. How many do you have and how can they help labs boost their business?
A: The OptoTech lens design system boasts more than 30 lens designs. We also have the ability
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to customize a design that is unique to each lab or practice. Our lenses can be private labeled and allow for maximum lens margins for the operator. Our lens designs are patented and have been sold in Europe for more than 15 years. Our lens designers are “in house” and we have a great team for support.
Q: Optotech recently
was acquired by Schunk Group. What can you tell us about who they are? Has this had any effect on U.S. operations?
A: I can clearly say that this acquisition is very positive for us. Schunk is very supportive and encourages us to advance and grow. Due to the size of the Schunk Foundation, it opens many doors and provides
We are very proud of our heritage in the precision optics market and we are very focused on bringing great value to our customers with an approach of long-term partnership and customer satisfaction. We want to be a preferred partner for our labs and we appreciate every opportunity that we receive. funding for R&D and machines advancement. Since Schunk is a foundation, it gives us great comfort that they are here for the long term. Schunk owns many brands and is best known in the automotive industry for carbon fiber parts technology. Schunk also owns Weiss Technik, best known for environmental chambers for testing in the automotive industry. The other large sector is Schunk SONO systems, known for ultrasonic metal welding.
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Schunk is focused on “Growth, Leadership, Innovation and Operational Excellence” and overall, it’s a great fit for OptoTech.
Q: What, if anything, has changed under the new management? A: Our management has not changed. We are encouraged to provide the best customer experience possible and cultivate long term partnerships
with our customers. We have an awesome team here in North America and we are growing.
Q: What else would
you like OLP’s readers to know about Optotech that you feel they might not be so aware of?
A: Although OptoTech has been slow to market in North America, the company is now more than 30 years old. It has a long history of excellence and innovation. We are very proud of our heritage in the precision optics market and we are very focused on bringing great value to our customers with an approach of long-term partnership and customer satisfaction. We want to be a preferred partner for our labs and we appreciate every opportunity that we receive.
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
5
ONE MACHINE; MULTI-PURPOSE
DualityAR from Coburn Technologies offers the same de-taping and cleaning as the original Duality but with enhanced ink and residue removal for a cost-effective, compact solution.
I
ntroduced just in time for Vision Expo West last month, DualityAR from Coburn is specifically designed to remove progressive ink marks and residue from UV-cured surface blocking materials. When used in conjunction with the Velocity automated coater, labs can run a completely automated solution for lens de-taping, cleaning and coating. “The DualityAR expands the family of Duality, introduced a year ago,” said Wayne Labrecque, vice president of sales, Americas. “The highly successful Duality performs de-taping and lens cleaning in one machine and has been well adopted by some of the world’s largest and best known Rx production facilities.” Ryan Maxwell, president of Optik K&R, Inc. in Toronto, Canada, purchased Duality
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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
“It improved productivity by having an automated solution to de-taping, reduces rejects in coating due to unclean lenses and improves cleanliness of lenses going into the automation inspection station.” - Ryan Maxwell, Optik K&R last March, and the machine was installed the following month. “It improved productivity by having an automated solution to de-taping, reduces rejects in coating due to unclean lenses and improves cleanliness of lenses going into the automation inspection station,” Maxwell said, adding it’s an all-in-one solution that has saved space and produces better yields.
Two-sided lens cleaning enables thorough removal of all debris on lenses often found after surfacing, such as polish, tape, adhesive and blocking materials. Fed by a conveyor, lenses are automatically removed from a tray, de-taped, cleaned and ready to coat without manual intervention, and at less than 12 square feet, Duality offers a small footprint ideal for space saving. Duality has proved to be an efficient boost for Maxwell’s business. “With Duality, there is less chance for polish to harden given its inline fast processing, and less human touching of lenses reduces risk of damage,” Maxwell said. “It has enabled a faster surfacing process and has imJohn Jorgensen, lab manager, proved yields on coating and efficiency in FEA Industries, Morton, PA inspection.”
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LAB INNOVATOR 2019
L A B I N N O VATO R 2 019
PROCESSING PIONEERS Morton, PA-based FEA Industries, Inc. was founded in a basement. Now it comprises three buildings of equipment from old-school glass-processing machines to the latest in automated inventory management. OLP visited the lab and interviewed owner William Heffner, III, his son William Heffner, IV (“Other Bill”), Chrystal Colflesh, general manager, and John Jorgensen, operations director. Each gave a glimpse of what has made this lab successful and poised to take on the future of an ever-changing industry. OLP: Bill, I’d like to start with you. Tell us how you got started in the optical industry. William Heffner, III (Bill): I grew up in
the business. I started to work for my father at 12 years of age. My job was to tint plastic lenses and clean out the generator, buff it, which was all glass back then, and clean out the edger buckets. When you’re 12 years old, you get the trash work. Now you have machines that will do the gradients, but back then you had glass beakers on a hot plate, and it was up on the third floor of the building where it was always hot as hell because it was right at the roof. The guy working with me was Vernon Allen. He was the lab manager. Vernon showed me how to do the tinting, but the best part was he was
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color blind. He would say, ‘Is this gray or green?’ He couldn’t tell the color, but he could tell the shades. So I started there, and then for the first few years, I was making $25 a week, and then I went home and cut grass and made $70 a week. That was only a 10-hour day, and then after two years I complained. My father said, ‘You know, I buy you breakfast every morning,’ and I think you’d spend 60 cents for breakfast back then, so then I got $35 a week.
OLP: Your dad owned the lab? Bill Heffner: Yeah. It was Philadelphia Optical Company. It was actually a union laboratory back then, because continued on page 8
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
7
continued from page 7 there were a lot of labs in Philadelphia that were union labs. I wrote software for my father and wrote the payroll system. He invested $40,000 back then for a computer system, and he relied on me to do it.
OLP: What year was this? Bill Heffner: This would be prob-
ably about 1971 or 1972. I eventually wound up taking over the stock business he had, where we bought Ray-Bans and stuff. We also sold to other labs, and I grew that business from $20,000 a month to several hundred thousand a month selling to other labs. But what put my father out of business was that probably 90% of our business was with Bausch & Lomb. My father always believed the more you can give to a vendor the more you can push him around, and we sold about $3 million worth of Ray-Bans, $2 million worth of its blanks and $1 million was the rest of the company — with the lab and stuff. And then when Bausch & Lomb got rid of its Ray-Ban division and decided to go direct with its salespeople, that cut us out. There goes $3 million in sales. Then Bausch got rid of the blank business. So now I had a $6 million company with $1 million worth of products to sell. At the same time my father had cancer and eventually passed on. My three other brothers were involved in ownership, but they didn’t purchase to be in the business. So, I told them it would make sense for me to just close the doors, send the inventory back to everybody and then we’d be done with it.
OLP: When was this? Bill Heffner: 1983. Then in 1984 I bought a house. It was a big
house, about 6,000 square feet with a 2,000-square-foot basement, and it had a spiral staircase that my wife liked, so it was a done deal. She was happy upstairs; I was happy downstairs. So I started a lab in the basement of my home.
OLP: What were some of your early challenges? Bill Heffner: Basically, when you first start you have no money.
I borrowed $20,000 from my brother when I first started the business in my home. I lived off my wife because she made good money,
8
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
and that’s why she kept telling me to get a real job. The challenges? I didn’t see anything major. It’s like those milestones in your own life when you do something that you’ve never done before, like buying your first house.
OLP: When you started this lab in the basement, what were you thinking? What were your goals for this lab? Bill Heffner: I really didn’t have any
goals. I think it just was stupid. I just knew that I could do it, and I liked making things happen and being creative. It was just fun. I like doing what I do because every day is different. When you start your lab, you’re cutting lenses, you’re polishing lenses, you’re inspecting lenses, you work on machines, so it’s not like being an accountant where you’re stuck in a cube and doing the same thing all day long. That would kill me.
OLP: What were some of your major equipment purchases or upgrades? Bill Heffner: The major ones would be getting involved in AR. I
didn’t know anything about AR. I learned how to repair the machines and understand the process, but just investing in the AR machine was a huge investment. Then we got the CCS Pro, the small one. That was $600,000 back then, and we borrowed money for that
OLP: Could you say there was one particular piece or category of equipment that pushed your business to the next level? Bill Heffner: It’s several things. Most labs, when they’re small
and they don’t have any money, they usually invest in digital, or they invest in AR and they can’t have both. When I was small I didn’t have AR. The key is to just keep putting out good product and it depends on the need at the time. I invested in surfacing more than anything, and then eventually I invested in AR and finishing. You can only do so much because you’re self-financing everything. Essentially, the way the decision was made was: I need another person, so I hired a person; or I need another piece of machinery to make this better, so depending if I have the cash, I go buy it. That’s how I grew it. Even with AR you have the learning curve. God knows we’ve screwed up a lot of work in AR, and dip coating is an art not a science. In surfacing, you have to understand what you’re doing. Whether you have the old equipment or the new equipment, you’re still going to make good quality product. You don’t need to do digital. Digital is simple — you don’t need the brains. I could make a lens just as good with a 1/13 generator and a Toro X finer and a polisher. You need to understand what you’re making and how to make quality. The key, too, is that you have to believe that you want to treat your
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customers like you want to be treated. If you keep that in mind then you have no problem. We want to try to put good quality out the door, and if it does, word of mouth sells, and that’s how we actually grew the business — by people referring me to other people.
OLP: When did you get into finishing? Bill Heffner: I had a guy doing work finishing. He was a subcon-
tractor when I was in the house, but even when I got here, probably about a year later we got an edger and stuff. We weren’t that good because we had the pattern type edger. As time went on we bought the patternless edger, and then I think about 10 years ago we bought our first MEI and about four years ago the second because they’re expensive.
OLP: Speaking of costs, how do you choose a piece of equipment? Bill Heffner: I look at my needs. Do I really need this machine?
What’s it going to do to produce and give us the quality we need? Also, what is my rate of return? Can I get my money back in two years? Will it pay for itself? Because if it’s five years or more then it’s not worth it. The other thing, too, is the last couple of years I’ve invested in a lot of machinery because of our tax rules. Because we have Section 179 and we have bonus appreciation. It’s like the RAX machine: that was a big expense, too, but we reduced labor by four people at least. The inventory is more accurate and we’ve saved at least $100,000 or more in inventory costs. With the RAX system, the order goes in, people don’t have to hunt for the inventory. If it’s an oddball, they would put it in a cardboard box and instead of looking through the cardboard box for the lens, they would just order them. The RAX knows what we have in inventory so we can then balance the inventory. Also with the investment in DVI, the software tells us if we don’t have the lens in inventory and puts the lens to be ordered. I can look through that, and it might say, you want a five-base type lens. Well you have six and four. You look at the Rx and say I can use either one of them, so you can actually burn up all of the oddball inventory. So, it saved me a lot of money on inventory and labor.
OLP: You installed the RAX system last spring, right? Bill Heffner: Yeah. We’re looking at new, updated robotic glass
machinery, but right now we’re good so I don’t really need to invest in that. But if glass grew, then I would invest in that. Or if they all got hammered with work, then I’d look at getting another AR machine and also, if the AL Systems grows like I think it will, I’ll probably have to buy another building for that type of business.
OLP: Let’s talk lenses. I know you have your own brand, Eagle lenses. Before we get into that, what lenses can you process in terms of other brands besides your own? Bill Heffner: We can process basically anything, except that we don’t do Varilux. We’ve never had a Varilux distributorship. Kodak we process.
William Heffner, IV (Other Bill): We don’t do Shamir. We do
some ZEISS digital but not their high end. We don’t do any insurances
RAX SOLUTIONS INVENTORY MANAGEMENT RAX offers advanced robotic material handling. For optical labs, RAX provides single order picking of various items with unlimited SKUs, whether its semi-finished lenses, finished lenses, frames, parts, tools or contact lenses. RAX loads, sorts and stores these items, can pair lenses and match frames to job trays. RAX comprises the following:
rBOX: • automated storage and retrieval system • easy software integration with user friendly interface
rLOADER: • automated loading system • available in two designs: external system or fully integrated solution • utilizes a robotic picking arm to separate, barcode scan and deliver to RBox for automated restocking
RinLoader: • fully automated conveyor built inside the Rbox. Utilizes picking arm to separate, barcode scan and deliver to conveyor inside the RBox to the automation system to allow it be fully restocked
rDESTACKER: • tote-filling system that can be used in conjunction with RBox • collates items into a “tote” or “collection” box • can be designed in various configurations (as a lift, printer or a conveyor) depending on specific business
continued on page 10
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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
9
continued from page 9 except VBA (Vision Benefits of America), and that’s really small.
OLP: When did you introduce the Eagle lenses and why? Other Bill: We introduced Eagle lenses maybe four or five years
ago. Especially now when everybody has their own digital design, this allowed us to put a name behind it because if you’re selling a generic lab brand, there’s no support behind it for an ECP, so what collateral are they putting along with your lens? What are they doing to teach their patients about it? We wanted to make it easier for them to be able to get an affordable lens with the collateral that they need to be able to sell it. I don’t want them selling my lens with pamphlets for a completely different lens. That doesn’t make sense. Eagle lenses come as single vision, progressive, occupational. There’s anything you could possibly want.
OLP: So you create all of your own marketing materials and literature for your customers? Other Bill: Yes, and that way we can also personalize it for them,
so if they happen to have a certain market of clientele that they deal with then we can customize it. Pretty much we provide whatever
1984
FEA begins operating out of the basement of Bill Heffner’s home, doing 20 jobs per day
FEA Industries is first incorporated
1989 10
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
incidentals they might need: what fits in their store and what goes hand-in-hand with their business. It’s what we do; support them and be a complete partner with their business to make sure they’re successful.
OLP: And then there’s Independence. When was that introduced and again, why? Other Bill: That’s our AR coating; similar reasons. We don’t sell
Crizal or Teflon. If people want a brand name coating, we wanted to give them something like that brand of coating so that way they can have something they can show the patient as to why this is a good product, and help them make the sales.
OLP: Independence has its own website? Other Bill: Correct, because as you know, if someone’s trying to
sell you something, the person you’re going to deal with will Google it to see what it is. And if you’re trying to find something that someone is trying to sell you and you can’t find it, it looks like they’re making it up. It doesn’t seem like a real product. You’re more likely to spend money on something if you know that you can find more information on it.
OLP: The FEA website is very informative: there’s so
With further growth, FEA added a second manufacturing facility just down the street from their main building. First freeform equipment installed
1995
Having grown to several hundred jobs per day and many employees, FEA moved to its current headquarters in Morton, PA
2008
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much information, even a glossary of optical terms. When was that created and why did you want the website to be this informative? Bill Heffner: It first started when [Other Bill] was in college. I was
supposed to hire a salesperson, but she went into another business instead. So I was thinking I needed to get more business in here. He was actually doing a second co-op term at Drexel, and I had Chrystal call Drexel to tell them we are looking for a programmer and asked if we could have Bill Heffner; if he could work for us through that co-op. Drexel said ‘Sure, as long as it’s not family.’ He was working for Chrystal and FEA Industries, not Bill Heffner. For the following six months we worked together. He made the website, and I made the back end and we started to receive orders. That’s how we actually brought business in because we were able to eliminate customer service and a lot of cost, so I was able to lower prices on that.
Other Bill: That was about 12 years ago or so, maybe 13, when or-
dering online wasn’t anywhere near as common, and what it does is it adds a competitive advantage. We don’t have sales reps, and we have minimal customer service reps because a lot of their time is teaching people about products and getting them to place orders. If they can just go online and do it themselves we can be more affordable because we don’t have the overhead.
2010
First lab in the United States to have OptoTech freeform glass surfacing equipment installed
Greatly expanded AR coating capacity by adding its first 1350 coating machine
OpticalLabProducts.com
2014
Bill Heffner: But the advantage to it was that most labs at that time
had to stop when their customer service went home at 5:00. But here, the website is available so it helped a lot. So we would come in the morning and there was work waiting for us. We would come in on the weekend and there was a pile of work so we started to work Sundays to get caught up. We allowed the work to come in 24 hours, seven days a week, and it helped us with our processing so we didn’t have to stand around and wait for that entry to show up to start getting the orders in. They were there.
OLP: Let’s talk about family. You have other children working here besides Bill. What are their roles at FEA? Bill Heffner: I have Mike and Stephanie. Mike basically was
working in the finishing department. He likes to work late hours, so basically, he would show up at eight at night and work until dawn if we need to. He could do all of the tough jobs. I also have him involved in AL Systems, so he’s now a partner in that company, working on the assembly of the machines, building the circuit boards and stuff like that. My daughter Steph just came aboard. She received a degree in health but couldn’t find a job. I told her she needed to work for me, and she said, ‘Dad, I don’t want to work for you.’ So I said, continued on page 12
2015
With an increase in demand for finished work, a third building was added to FEA’s growing footprint in Morton, PA
Automated inventory management and selection with a RAX inventory system
2019 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
11
continued from page 11 ‘Alright, think of it this way: you have a degree; this other person has a degree. One of the people is also working, and you’re interviewing. Who would you hire?’ So now she’s working for me.
OLP: Bill, what’s it like working with dad and your brother and sister? Other Bill: What’s it like? It’s awesome.
OLP: How do you make it work? Bill Heffner: Sometimes it’s really hard you
know, but the thing about working with kids is that you want to get stuff done and I know how hard I work, so you want to push them. But then, sometimes I don’t realize he [Other Bill] has a daughter and a wife and I say ‘I work seven days a week. Why aren’t you?’ Sometimes I really am a pain.
Other Bill: If he insists!
OLP: But how do you make it work, and when you’re not here do you talk business? Bill Heffner: Not really. I mean, sometimes, depending. Other Bill: Yes. Bill Heffner: We do? Okay. Other Bill: It’s about managing expectations and also not seeing each other every second of every day. Like any other business relationship, we still have to get done what we need to get done.
OLP: To switch gears a little bit, what about customer training?
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Other Bill: Typically we don’t do customer training. We have some
in the local area, but because we sell nationwide, we don’t have sales reps and coverage for that. As far as having an actual person who trains, we don’t believe in that because we cater to opticians who are fairly confident in how to fit progressives and are self taught in many of those things. We don’t do the higher end luncheons. That’s not who we cater to.
OLP: Let’s talk a little bit about Opt Magazine. When that started, why did you want to publish this and what were the goals? Other Bill: We started that two, three years ago?
Bill Heffner: Three years ago. Other Bill: In looking at what the options
were for trade magazines in the industry, it seemed like they were so loaded with advertisements and had little content.
Bill Heffner: I was looking at one, and it
had 12 pages of frame ads before you even got to the table of contents. I wanted to come out with a magazine that’s useful in the industry; that has only one frame ad. We wanted to make it fun and educational, sort of like a National Lampoon magazine.
Other Bill: Something people want to read as opposed to just flip-
ping through and then throwing it out. We can still have control over it and even the messaging.
OLP: Let’s talk customer service. For an independent lab, that’s sort of a hallmark, so to speak, of being successful to an extent. How do you train your
OpticalLabProducts.com
customer service people, and is there something you do in terms of customer service that sets you apart?
Other Bill: That’s what people want. You want to be able to go and
Other Bill: A lot of what we do is trying to make it self-service. We
Chrystal Colflesh: And you get exactly what you wanted. If it’s
order what you want and not have to talk to anyone.
want to be able to give them the data when they want it. Being available online 24/7 is a lot more useful than being able to call customer service within working hours. Anything they need to talk to us about they can do on their own time when they need it. It’s always about having it faster, having it sooner, and being able to give them that.
an order error, it’s on you.
Chrystal Colflesh: Other Bill has allowed them to do live online
everything that was actually in their box last night, it’s amazing. You can come in in the morning, print it off our website and they know exactly what jobs are coming to them. They can pull those jobs and be ready to notify those patients as soon as they receive those jobs today. We have given them every access they can need. What customer service used to do over the phone, they can do online. The only time they’ve got to call us is if they can’t find their box or if they need to add something to the job or something like that.
tracking at all times where their jobs are. They also have 10 years of statements online. If they need a copy of an invoice, it’s available online. They have made everything available to them. They basically call us for something they can’t find on the website, so there’s no need to call us as many times a day. That’s why we don’t have as many people as most of the other labs. They usually have about three to four times as many customer service reps as we do. We’re not order takers anymore because 95% of our orders are done through the internet.
Bill Heffner: Even if customers order a job on Saturday and we’re
running the work, they can actually go online and stop that job in case the patient calls back and says ‘I don’t want it,’ or whatever. They can either cancel it or put it on hold.
OLP: How many do you have in customer service? Six? Chrystal Colflesh: Six would be the level that we need, yeah. Bill Heffner: But they’re more troubleshooters than anything else.
We incentivize the customer to use our website. If you want to call it in, it will cost you $5 extra. If you’re faxing, it’s $3 per order extra. If you order online, it’s free. So all of a sudden, people realize that’s a lot of money.
OpticalLabProducts.com
Other Bill: That’s really why we cater to the people who know
what they want and we can get it to them quickly. I think we can afford to be truly different. We’re not high on hand-holding.
Chrystal Colflesh: If they can go online and get a packing list of
OLP: What key services do you believe an independent lab needs to provide in order to stay competitive, especially in this climate of consolidation? Bill Heffner: Well, with consolidation, you’re dealing with big
companies and customer service where the owners don’t care. They go home after eight hours. We’re here. If there’s a problem, we take care of it. That’s because we have to; that’s our business. It’s like that with all of the independent labs. They care about their customer, and it sets us apart from all of the big opticals of the world. The key is also the turnaround. That’s why we invested in DVI this year and spent a bunch of money, so it helps us be much more efficient than we were before. That allowed us to reduce the number of people. You see continued on page 14
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
13
Bill Heffner: Five or 10 years out, the com-
continued from page 13
pany will be bigger. It will be more efficient
all the automation we have in the lab. The only person we really need is the person who takes the lens out of the box. The rest of it is putting it into this machine and into the next. That’s how we’re doing it.
OLP: How many jobs a day do you process, and what’s the percentage of AR? John Jorgensen: We roughly process right now 1,200 to 1,500 trays.
Bill Heffner: About 25% of what we sell is AR.
OLP: How many shifts do you have? John Jorgensen: We don’t work on Saturdays
and Sundays. We have one continuous shift that starts at six in the morning. We do stagger starts according to where the process line starts, and we integrate and block for the first hour to two hours, we generate for eight hours and polish.
OLP: So is it a full 12 hours?
than ever because we’re doing different things. There will be new products on the horizon, like we have Fog Off right now. You don’t really know what’s going to happen with technology,
AL SYSTEMS
but it’s moving extremely quick. If you look at 10 years ago, freeform never even existed real-
STACKER Heffner also owns and DESTACKER operates AL Systems, which specializes in custom projects for ocular producers and contact lens industries. Products include stackers and destackers, laser markers, lens inspection systems and automated lens sorters. AL Systems’ customers include Essilor, Hoya, Analog Devices and Gentex.
AL SYSTEMS
John: It’s a full 12 hours of production and then an eight-hour work shift.
OLP: Bill, where do you see FEA in five, 10 years? What are your long-term goals for FEA?
ly. We had a freeform line here before freeform was actually ready to run. Again, you don’t really know where the company is going, but I feel that the company will always be here and grow because we don’t really plan to sell it to anybody because I have family involved.
OLP: Other Bill, you’re in it for the long haul? Other Bill: It’s the optical industry. I’m in it for life. Once you’re in, you don’t get out. It was a part-time job for a year or two.
OLP: Finally, I would like for you to clear up once and for all what FEA really stands for.
Bill Heffner: Fast, Efficient and Accurate. Well, you heard it.
DIGITAL VISION TAKES OUR CUSTOMERS TO THE NEXT LEVEL Do you feel stuck at your lab with manual workarounds? Do simple tasks seem harder than they should be? DVI's flexible software and responsive support helps you take command of your lab's processes. Our guiding principle is to empower customers of all sizes to run their labs efficiently, in a way that makes sense for them. Our industry leading system provides tools to streamline, automate, and integrate all aspects of your business. Our consulting partnership ensures you're never left wondering what to do next. As an independent company focused solely on the optical lab industry, our only agenda is your success. Phone: 503.231.6606 Fax: 503.231.4943 6805 SE Milwaukie Ave. Portland, OR 97202
www.thedvi.com
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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
OpticalLabProducts.com
Becoming a
CAMBER-ENABLED LAB Laboratory Enablement Process
After Cincinnati-based R&D Optical decided to add Camber to its lens portfolio, it is now able to offer a premium progressive lens option — plus, it helped the lab produce other lenses of superior quality.
by Ronald Cooke, Jr.
A
s a small, independently owned and operated laboratory, we were looking for a way to differentiate our business. Working with IOT and its “standard” designs has allowed us to private label these designs and offer them to our customers at a reasonable price. Although we are having tremendous success with these designs, we thought it would be beneficial to add a top tier progressive lens to our portfolio. We decided to add Camber designs to our offerings, and like most labs, we wanted to be able to process these in-house to ensure quality and fast service. Once the decision was made, we were put on the calendar to begin enablement. We understood ahead of time that this would be a relatively long process — and it was. The process of enablement was very complex and involved us processing lenses for testing by the engineers at IOT. Once the testing was complete, we were given some — many at first — items to adjust throughout the process, including blocking and adjustments to our surfacing equipment settings.
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Initially, we made many changes to our lens processing. These changes made our lenses better and more accurate. It seemed impossible for our process to get much better,
some were painfully detailed and somewhat cumbersome, netted us a superior process for all the lenses we produce through our surface room. The bottom line is after a lot of effort, adjustments and time, we were able to produce the Camber designs, and all our work was far superior when compared to the lenses we produced prior to the enablement. Keep in mind, the lenses produced prior were well within all tolerances, however, we are now producing lenses that are very near, and in some cases, perfect!
but the suggested changes were very helpful, and, in the end, we feel our lenses are virtually “perfect” when compared to the prescription requested. Each step of the enablement process, while
Our customers receive superior lenses and the option to offer the top tier Camber lens technology to their patients. In the end, the process of becoming Camber enabled was long and tedious but was worth every second.
Ronald Cooke, Jr. is the owner of R&D Optical in Cincinnati, OH.
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NEW For the Lab
NEOCHROMES PHOTOCHROMIC LENSES FROM IOT
IOT’s Neochromes photochromic lenses are designed with a new dye formulation that allows lenses to be clear indoors, darken quickly and return to an un-activated state in three minutes, according to IOT. Neochromes block 100% of UVA and UVB rays and provide high protection from blue light when dark. Lenses are available in gray and brown in polycarbonate, Trivex, plastic 1.50 and high index 1.60 and 1.67 materials. For more information, contact IOT at 877.414.7809; IOTAmerica.com.
AST-2 SCRATCH RESISTANT COATING FROM ULTRA OPTICS COBURN TECHNOLOGIES’ TRUBLU EDGING PADS
Launched last month at Vision Expo West, TruBlu blocking pads are general-purpose pads that are compatible with all lens materials, base curves and styles. TruBlu pads also provide secure adhesion on most AR coatings, torque resistance and remove easily from the lens and block, according to the company. TruBlu edging pads come in the most common shapes and configurations with a precision die cut and are available on Coburn’s e-commerce site ShopCoburn.com. For more information, contact Coburn Technologies at 800.262.8761; CoburnTechnologies.com.
Ultra Optics’ AST-2 coating was developed for an improved hard coat for AR and non-tintable applications. AST-2 coating also provides secure adhesion, clarity (less yellowness) and scratch-resistance. For more information, contact Ultra Optics at 800.365.9993; UltraOptics.com.
DYNAMIC LABS’ SUPER HYDROSEAL LIQUID COATING AND HYDROSEAL GEL COATING
Dynamic Labs’ Super Hydroseal Liquid Coating is a protective, water-repellent and slippery thin film coating that can be applied using a “wipe-on” method. This top coating is chemically bonded and provides durability for the life of lenses and is available in two sizes: 20ml and 35ml. Hydroseal Gel Coating provides a cost effective method of applying top coating with a 5ml tube. For more information, contact Dynamic Labs at 888.339.6264; DynamicLabs.net.
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OpticalLabProducts.com
LAB News COSTA EXPANDS LENS RECYCLING PROGRAM TO OPTICAL LABS
As part of the company’s Kick Plastic campaign, Costa recently launched a lens recycling program for optical labs. Labs can now send discarded optical plastic lenses (clear demo, tinted, sunwear, photochromic, AR coated and more) and dry plastic finishing swarf to select Piedmont Plastics locations, where it will be recycled and repurposed into safety glasses, scuba masks and motorcycle helmet shields. Labs that are interested in getting involved can contact Costa at LensRecycle@CostaDelMar.com.
EYEWEAR/EYECARE PRODUCTS NOT INCLUDED IN EUROPEAN GOOD DUTIES After review of a list of European goods subject to new tariffs on $7.5 billion worth of European goods, the World Trade Organization determined that eyewear and eyecare products will not be included. The only optical products subject to these tariffs are lenses for cameras, projectors and photographic enlargers of German origin.
PETE LOTHES BECOMES SATISLOH CEO
Effective Sept.1, Pete Lothes is now Satisloh’s President and CEO, having been named worldwide president in early 2019.
Leading Satisloh globally over the last eight months has been fast-paced and rewarding,” Lothes said in a statement. “I am excited to take on the CEO role as well. I will continue to drive Satisloh’s strategy of providing complete manufacturing solutions for the optical industry. We’re focused on continuing our role as leaders and innovation and — most importantly — delivering customer satisfaction.
LAB DIVISION’S HALL OF FAME
It was a night of celebration and camaraderie at this year’s Lab Division Hall of Fame Banquet, held Sept. 18 at Treasure Island Hotel in Las Vegas during Vision Expo West. Steve Sutherlin, Lab Division liaison to The Vision Council, was honored with the Directors’ Choice Award, while six industry veterans were inducted into the Hall of Fame: Arman Bernardi, iCoat Company; Yvette Carranza, Digital Vision, Inc.; Edward DeRosa, Signet Armorlite; Skip Payne, IcareLabs; Kevin Rupp, Essilor of America; and Jörg Spangemacher, MAFO Magazine.
DAC TECHNOLOGIES APPOINTS LATIN AMERICA SALES MANAGER
Nestor Paz has been appointed Latin America Sales Manager for DAC Technologies. Paz, based in Dallas, is responsible for both the Latin American and Caribbean regions. Paz has 15 years of optical industry experience, most recently for a digital surfacing manufacturer. “Nestor’s knowledge in digital and traditional processing and finishing, as well as his international experience, brings invaluable insight to benefit our customers,” said Isaac Altit, global vice president of sales at DAC Technologies.
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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
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Replacing Tape
NEW
SPP m dulo Spin Protection Technology The SPP Modulo replaces tape to optimally protect the lens during the surfacing process utilizing UV-curable liquid protection layers. Evenly distributed across the lens, the layer optimally covers it while adhering tightly to it – even with extremely curved lenses or extreme flat top bifocals. Problems such as wrinkles, bubbles, or detaching, commonly known with tape, that cause power or cosmetic defects are prevented. The protection layer can be removed easily with SCHNEIDER’s tape-stripping technology.
Tape vs. Spin Protection layer
Besides surfacing protection, this new technology can also be used for ideal protection of blanks and semi-finished goods at different stages such as storage or transportation.
www.schneider-om.com