By Julie Bos, Contributing Editor
Friday, August 23, 2024 8:30 AM
When Michael Walach retired from his 30-year optical career at age 57, the last thing he expected was to start another business. Yet he followed an opportunity and his intuition—and today, countless full-service labs around the world are certainly glad he did. In 2004, Walach started Quest Vision Care Specialty Lab, a unique and highly specialized “lab’s lab” that has earned its claim to fame for making prescriptions that are either too tough or simply out of range for other labs. Today, as Quest Vision Care Specialty Lab celebrates its 20th anniversary, the lab deserves every ounce of pride for what they’ve accomplished as they continue serving full-service wholesale labs from more than 17 countries around the world. Here’s a look at some of the lab’s major accomplishments over the last 20 years.
By Julie Bos, Contributing Editor
Sunday, July 21, 2024 2:00 AM
When Michael Walach retired from his 30-year optical career at age 57, the last thing he expected was to start another business. Yet he followed an opportunity and his intuition—and today, countless full-service labs around the world are certainly glad he did.
By Julie Bos, Contributing Editor
Sunday, October 22, 2023 12:58 AM
Growth strategies are often counterintuitive. For many optometrists, throwing a wide net to catch as many patients as possible may seem like the wisest idea, but there are plenty of specialized practices today that beg to differ.
By Julie Bos / Contributing Editor
Sunday, January 29, 2023 12:30 AM
OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss.—Every company’s growth journey is unique, but for Superior Optical Lab in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, it’s an impressive story marked by Service-Disabled Veterans support, 400 percent revenue growth in the past five years, and a recent expansion effort that has quadrupled capacity through state-of-the-art automation. Today, Superior Optical Lab is on the forefront of the industry—fueled by focused leadership, a strong presence within the Veterans Administration (VA) and ECP communities, and the powerful, behind-the-scenes Schneider Modulo One technology.
By Julie Bos / Contributing Editor
Friday, January 27, 2023 8:30 AM
Every company’s growth journey is unique, but for Superior Optical Lab in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, it’s an impressive story marked by Service-Disabled Veterans support, 400 percent revenue growth in the past five years, and a recent expansion effort that has quadrupled capacity through state-of-the-art automation. Fortunately, two local financial partners saw great potential for the lab’s future—and had the right mindset and qualifications to make it happen. Today, Superior Optical Lab is on the forefront of the industry—fueled by focused leadership, a strong presence within the Veterans Administration (VA) and ECP communities, and the powerful, behind-the-scenes Schneider Modulo One technology.
By Julie Bos / Contributing Writer
Tuesday, October 11, 2022 12:40 AM
RLab, formerly Rochester Optical, has always believed in putting its best foot forward for its customers, its people and the planet. So, in June 2020, when the lab experienced a main water line break that flooded its 30,000 square foot facility and damaged millions in equipment and infrastructure, leaders already knew they were facing a complete rebuild. But they took it one step further—viewing the challenge as a tremendous opportunity to transform its entire operations, and ultimately, achieve an aggressive goal to reach a zero-carbon footprint.
By Julie Bos / Contributing Editor
Friday, October 7, 2022 8:30 AM
RLab, formerly Rochester Optical, has always believed in putting its best foot forward for its customers, its people and the planet. So, in June 2020, when the lab experienced a main water line break that flooded its 30,000 square foot facility and damaged millions in equipment and infrastructure, leaders already knew they were facing a complete rebuild. But they took it one step further—viewing the challenge as a tremendous opportunity to transform its entire operations, and ultimately, achieve an aggressive goal to reach a zero-carbon footprint.
By Julie Bos / Contributing Editor
Thursday, August 4, 2022 1:00 AM
In today’s optical labs, automation is making it possible to perform everyday tasks more precisely and efficiently than any human could ever hope to do. Yet while automation is important, it’s not everything. In fact, there’s a strong case to be made for why the human element should never be completely removed from a lab’s operations.
By Julie Bos
Monday, September 21, 2020 12:30 AM
Long before COVID-19 turned our world upside-down, concerns over too much screen time and the rise of Digital Eye Strain (DES) were already escalating. But it’s safe to say the COVID-19 crisis is exacerbating the situation for people everywhere, and especially for children who have multiplied their time on-screen—using digital devices for both virtual education and recreational down-time.
While more time at home has been good for slowing the spread of COVID-19, it’s forcing many people’s eyes to suffer.