Celebrating the grand opening of Essilor’s Innovation and Technology Center are, (l to r) Kevin Rupp, chief financial officer and senior vice president, finance & administration, Essilor of America; Gary Greer, city manager, Farmers Branch, Texas; Bill Glancy, Farmer’s Branch mayor; John Carrier, president of Essilor of America (with scissors); Fred Ferguson, president of the Farmers Branch Chamber of Commerce; Patrick Poncin, Essilor’s corporate senior vice president, global engineering; Eric Perrier, Essilor’s corporate senior vice president, research & development and Jean Luc Schuppiser, Essilor’s outgoing corporate senior vice president, research & development.
DALLAS—Essilor of America celebrated the grand opening of its Innovation and Technology Center at its corporate headquarters in Farmers Branch, Texas on Oct. 4. Farmer’s Branch city officials joined Essilor of America president and chief executive officer, John Carrier, at a reception hosted at the 43,000 square-foot facility, which was designed and constructed by Dallas based firms GSR Andrade Architects, Hillwood Construction Services and JJA, Inc.

The new Innovation and Technology Center, which was relocated from St. Petersburg, Fla. to Farmers Branch, allows Essilor to combine and strengthen its research and development and engineering resources under one roof.

“Along with recently being named one of Forbes Most Innovative Companies for the second year in a row, the Innovation and Technology Center is one of the many examples of our continued commitment to research and development,” said Carrier. “In relocating the Innovation and Technology Center to our headquarters in Dallas, we’ll be able to better identify and develop innovative products that meet and exceed our customer’s needs. ■