SCENE + HEARD: Discover VM Conversation: Essilor’s Pete Lothes Talks With Andrew Karp About Labs and Servicing Independent ECPs By Staff Thursday, April 15, 2021 6:11 AM NEW YORK—Essilor, the world’s biggest lens company, is also the biggest optical laboratory operator in the U.S. Since acquiring its first U.S. labs in 1996, Essilor has built a network consisting of over 90 locations that are part of its ELOA group or are independently-owned partner labs. Pete Lothes is in charge of the company’s lab operations. Lothes has spent his career in and around labs, first helping manage the family business in Columbus, Ohio and later heading Essilor’s Satisloh business unit, which is a leading manufacturer of lens processing equipment. In his current role as SVP operations and supply chain, he oversees the production and distribution of tens of thousands of prescription lenses a day. As part of our VM Conversation series, Lothes recently spoke via Zoom with VM’s lens and technology editor, Andrew Karp, about the unique capabilities of Essilor’s labs. Read More