By Staff
Tuesday, July 14, 2020 12:33 AM
LONDON— Media 10, the organizers of
100% Optical, and the
Federation of Manufacturing Opticians (FMO), the organizers of Optrafair, announced they have reached an agreement that brings the main optical bodies and industry together into one major event for 2021 onwards. In addition to this agreement, the FMO, together with show organiser MA Exhibitions, a member of the Mark Allen Group, said they have made the difficult decision to cancel Optrafair 2020, which was due to take place at the NEC on September 19-21 2020. This action was taken due to the continued uncertainty surrounding delivery of events as a result of Covid-19.
By Staff
Tuesday, July 14, 2020 12:30 AM
CALGARY, Alberta—
FYidoctors, a leading optometrist-controlled eyecare company based here, has added Innisfil Eye Care to its operating group, according to an announcement Monday. The practice is operated by Dr. Morrie Sher, who received his Doctor of Optometry at the University of Waterloo in 1985. Privately held, FYidoctors is optometrist-owned and operated, and now has more than 500 optometrists, 250 locations and 2,700 employees as part of its portfolio. “Now with over 40 locations across the province, Ontario continues to be an important market for FYi and it’s expansion,” chairman and chief executive officer Dr. Alan Ulsifer said in the announcement.
By Staff
Tuesday, July 14, 2020 12:24 AM
NEW YORK—Tech website
SlashGear reported last week that Apple’s smart glass lenses have reportedly gone into trial production, as one of the key components for its upcoming AR products apparently makes it past the prototype stage. “Based on technology expected to be used first in an augmented reality headset, and then a pair of sunglasses-style Apple Glasses, the lenses will presumably allow apps to project digital graphics into the wearer’s line of sight,” SlashGear said.
By Staff
Tuesday, July 14, 2020 12:21 AM
NEW YORK—Margery Weinstein has been promoted to editor-in-chief of
Review of Optometric Business (
ROB), part of Jobson Medical Information's Practice Advancement Associates group. Weinstein has been managing editor of
ROB since 2010, shortly after
ROB's introduction and she has played a critical role in the editorial development and growth of this platform. Noted Al Greco, vice president, new business, "Margery has done an outstanding job of bringing ROB's readers business and advisory content that is timely and highly relevant to their practices. She is a valued team member who has contributed to establishing
Review of Optometric Business as a content brand that is clearly positioned as the source for information on the business aspect of optometric practice."
By Staff
Tuesday, July 14, 2020 12:18 AM
DALLAS—
Essilor Vision Foundation (EVF) announced that it is partnering with
FoxFire Systems Group to facilitate charitable donations to
EVF’s See Kids Soar program. EVF is FoxFire’s first charitable partner. FoxFire specializes in ophthalmic-specific electronic health records and practice management software, and is known for industry-leading technology that helps eye doctors see more patients per day. The company stated it is proud to support the See Kids Soar program which raises money to help children across America receive vision care. FoxFire’s technology will make it easier for eye doctors to collect funds by allowing patients to add a donation at checkout.
By Staff
Monday, July 13, 2020 12:30 AM
ESCONDIDO, Calif.—
TearLab Corp., a leader in diagnostics for dry eye disease (DED), said its acquisition by Accelmed Partners II (AP-II) has closed. The tentative deal between the companies and a $25 million investment by the Accelmed was announced in May, as
VMAIL reported.
By Staff
Monday, July 13, 2020 12:27 AM
BERKELEY, Calif.—Andrew Schmeder, a scientist who co-founded
EnChroma and served as the company’s CEO for the past four years, is moving into a new full-time role as chief technology officer.
By Staff
Monday, July 13, 2020 12:24 AM
OAKVILLE, Ontario, Canada—
Binovi Technologies Corp. announced it has signed a binding share purchase agreement to acquire a private entity which owns
VIMA Rev Strobe Lenses, its related patents, associated intellectual property, and available inventory.
By Staff
Monday, July 13, 2020 12:21 AM
RICHMOND—Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced last week that
Bausch + Lomb, a division of Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE/TSX: BHC), will invest more than $35 million to expand its manufacturing facility in the city of Lynchburg.
By Staff
Monday, July 13, 2020 12:18 AM
NEW YORK—Gatto USA, part of the Italy-based
Gatto Group is expanding its presence in the U.S. market to offer its services to American-based eyewear and accessories companies. Headed by Francesco de Grossi, Gatto USA has a showroom here in Manhattan as well as a service facility in Boonton, N.J. to support customers who are looking to collaborate on packaging and paper products, displays, product cases and visual merchandising for their collections, according to the company.
By Staff
Monday, July 13, 2020 12:15 AM
SAN RAMON, Calif.—A second
CooperVision contact lens manufacturing facility has earned prestigious LEED Silver certification for its environmentally conscious design and operation, the company announced recently. Opened in 1999, the 540,000-square-foot site in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico, produces the company’s popular silicone hydrogel contact lenses including, MyDay and Biofinity brands. CooperVision’s clariti 1 day production site in Alajuela, Costa Rica, earned its LEED Silver certification in late 2018, as
VMAIL reported.
By Staff
Friday, July 10, 2020 12:24 AM
Reliance Standard launches dental and vision benefit plan, NAVCP issues policy statement on ocular telemedicine, ECP revenues, eye exams and sales decline, Michael Hoster succeeds James Henne as publisher of Jobson's Review Group and VSP Global names Chris Enslin president of Eyefinity all topped this week’s
VMAIL news feed. Click on the headlines below to catch up on anything you might have missed.
By Staff
Friday, July 10, 2020 12:21 AM
SAN RAMON, Calif.—
CooperVision is encouraging the optometry, ophthalmology, vision science and public health communities to participate in the 9th annual
Focus on Eye Health National Summit, presented by Prevent Blindness on Wednesday, July 15. The summit’s online format and no-cost registration will allow broad attendance, helping advance discussions surrounding some of the most important topics in ocular health, including the rising severity and prevalence of myopia, CooperVision said in an announcement. According to a study published in Clinical Ophthalmology in August 2018, 41.9 percent of U.S. children ages 5-19 are myopic. More information and registration details are available at
https://eyesummit.vfairs.com/
By Staff
Friday, July 10, 2020 12:18 AM
GLOUCESTER, England—
The Norville Group, a major spectacle lens and frame supplier and prescription lab operator based here, is insolvent and is in administration. Simon Girling and Christopher Marsden of BDO LLP were appointed joint administrators of the company on July 3, 2020, according to an announcement on the company’s website. Simon Girling is authorized to act in the U.K. as an insolvency practitioner by the Insolvency Practitioners Association and Christopher Marsden is authorized to act in the U.K. as insolvency practitioner by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.
By Staff
Thursday, July 9, 2020 11:16 AM
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—
The Vision Council and Reed Exhibitions, organizers of Vision Expo, have announced today the decision to cancel Vision Expo West 2020, scheduled to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada from September 23-26. Over the past several months, Reed Exhibitions’ Vision Expo team and The Vision Council worked together to prepare and plan for the highly anticipated event while closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on members of the optical community, the announcement said.