Essilor acquires Polycore Optical and grows in sun lens market

Hubert Sagnières, President and CEO: "This agreement is in line with our strategy for protecting eyesight and promoting eye health" Essilor International has announced the acquisition of 50% of Polycore Optical, one of the world's leading manufacturers of sun lenses.   Set up in 1976 and based in Singapore, Polycore develops and makes a wide range of corrective sun and transparent lenses and non-corrective sun lenses for sale in Asia, Europe and the United States. The company, which has 2,200 employees and billings of close to €30 million, is also an Essilor supplier. It has a manufacturing site in Indonesia and Malaysia and three corrective lens laboratories in Indonesia and the Netherlands, which include a laboratory for exported products.   Commenting on the acquisition, President and Chief Executive Officer Hubert Sagnières stated: "This agreement is in line with our strategy for protecting eyesight and promoting eye health. The manufacturing capacity of Polycore and its factories will join Essilor's current production of sun lenses which takes place primarily at its BNL factories in France and at Gentex in the United States. This new partnership will enable us to offer a wider and more comprehensive range of sun products and materials and to increase our penetration of the high-performance sun lens sector."   Based in France, BNL makes premium tinted or polarized sun lenses mainly in polycarbonate. The subsidiary Gentex has a factory in the United States and is well-known for its experience in manufacturing sun lenses, especially those for curved frames.   Because of their ability to improve vision comfort and clarity while also protecting the eyes, sun lenses are an integral part of Essilor's mission: to improve the eyesight of 4.2 billion people, 2.5 billion of whom still do not have access to corrective devices.   The sun lenses segment currently boasts a growth rate twice that of the corrective lens market.