Gordon Bishop (l) and Felix Castanon (r).

EL PASO, Texas—After 45 years in the optical industry and after more than six years as president/CEO of Sunland Optical, Gordon Bishop has retired from the position and founded Optical Consultants. Felix Castanon, formerly lab manager, will assume the role of president. The company specializes in providing eyecare and eyewear on military bases throughout the U.S.

After more than four decades in the business, Bishop has worked in many facets of the optical field, including corporate and private retail, optometry and ophthalmology. In addition, he has also worked for buying groups, contact lens distribution companies and retail government entities. Prior to Sunland Optical, Bishop was senior vice president of operations for Schaeffer Eye Center in Birmingham, Ala., and president of the consumer division, buying group and contact lens division of Opticare Eye Health Systems in Waterbury, Conn.

He told VMail that his new consulting firm “allows me an opportunity to provide some guidance to some of the smaller optical organizations who are dealing with the changes in our environment, such as new technology, staff training, insurance, government regulations, online retailing, consolidation of the retail players, and now the new nuance of non-optical players coming into our marketplace. These are all exciting challenges but can seem somewhat daunting to the smaller organization.”

Sunland’s new president, Felix Castanon, has been in the optical business for more than 33 years. He told VMail that Sunland Optical currently has one lab based here producing an average of 300 jobs per day servicing 27 locations throughout the U.S. In business for over 50 years, Sunland Optical “will continue serving the military and trying to acquire as many contracts as possible while growing our wholesale division,” said Castanon.