A mere 17 months after a devastating fire that destroyed its Jakarta, Indonesia production facility, Vision-Ease Lens (VEL) announces the availability of nearly all product styles that were temporarily suspended due to the fire.
VEL’s entirely rebuilt plant houses state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment and meets international standards for natural disasters, including earthquakes and tsunamis. The new facility features the latest fire-suppressant technologies and has implemented major reductions in combustible sources. VEL held jobs for the 500 employees who worked at the facility prior to the fire, and who are integral to the production of a large percentage of the company’s polycarbonate offerings and 100 per cent of VEL glass lenses.
“A destructive fire is an unexpected hurdle with wide-ranging operational, financial and customer implications,” said Doug Hepper, VEL CEO. “We are fortunate that none of our employees were injured and thankful that our customers have remained unwaveringly loyal as we’ve shifted production to our Ramsey, Minnesota plant, suspended production of other products and worked hard to rebuild our Jakarta factory. Now, we’re operating at full speed ahead to resume providing customers with the high-quality lenses they expect from Vision-Ease.”
Earlier this year, VEL restarted production on the balance of its core polycarbonate lens line, and is now stocking and shipping Continua® SFSV 71, 75, 80 mm and Continua FSV 65, 75 mm lenses. Other products reinstated since the fire include Continua Tintable FSV (Aspheric 65 mm, Spherical 75 mm), Tegra® FSV (Aspheric 65 mm and 75 mm), Continua multifocals (D28, D35, 7×28 and 8×35) and all glass products.
Continua FSVAR (Aspheric 65 mm, Spherical 75 mm) lenses have been discontinued and will be replaced with a new, upgraded version with Super-Hydro AR coating, set to launch in June 2011.
