DALLAS— Essilor announced that it recently acquired QC Optical, a wholesale optical laboratory with branches in Portland, Ore. and Spokane, Wash. The terms of the transaction were not announced. In the coming weeks, Essilor plans to close the two branches and merge QC Optical into Opti-Craft, an Essilor lab in Portland.

“The merger of the QC Optical business into Opti-Craft will allow QC Optical's customers to enjoy technology and products that were not available at the QC Optical labs,” an Essilor spokesperson told VMail.

The former owners of QC Optical, Jim McAndrew and Bruce Hengel, will transition over to Opti-Craft, according to Essilor. McAndrew and Hengel, who are both industry veterans, bought QC Optical from Tom Mitchoff in September, 2004. Staffing plans for QC Optical employees are still being developed, Essilor said.