Essilor
 |
|
| Société Anonyme | |
| Traded as |
Euronext: EI CAC 40 Component |
| Industry | Medical equipment |
| Founded | 1849, as Essel |
| Headquarters | Charenton-le-Pont, France |
|
Key people
|
Hubert Sagnières (CEO) |
| Products | Corrective lenses and ophthalmic equipment |
| Revenue |
 €6.72 billion (2015)
|
|
€1183 million (2015)
|
|
| Profit |
€757 million (2014)
|
| Total assets | €6.907 billion (end 2012) |
| Total equity | €3.921 billion (end 2012) |
|
Number of employees
|
61,000 (end 2015) |
| Website | essilor.com |
Essilor International S.A. is a French company that produces ophthalmic lenses along with ophthalmic optical equipment. It is based in Charenton-le-Pont (near Paris), France, and quoted on the Euronext . It is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 share index.
Essilor is responsible for creating Varilux, the world's first progressive lens which corrects presbyopia and allows clear vision in the wearer's near, intermediate and far vision. The company formed from the merger of ophthalmic firms Essel and Silor in 1972. Essilor now operates in over 100 countries over five continents. Its activities are largely focused on research and development. It is the world's largest manufacturer of ophthalmic lenses.
Essel was founded in 1849 (then-called L’Association Fraternelle des Ouvriers Lunetiers) as a small network of eyeglass assembly workshops in Paris. It quickly expanded in the late 19th and early 20th century through the acquisition of factories in nearby Parisian neighbourhoods and in Eastern France. Essel soon added frame design and trade to its activities. The firm launched a frame design in 1955 called Nylor which is still used today. The Nylor system introduced a thin nylon thread which embraces the lens and is fixed to the frame’s higher branch. Essel's breakthrough came in 1959 with the invention of Varilux, the first ophthalmic progressive lens.
Silor first started under the name Lissac in 1931 as a retailer of ophthalmic lenses and frames before becoming a lens manufacturer. In 1959, the same year Essel invented the progressive lens, Lissac made a discovery of its own: the Orma 1000 lens, made from a lightweight material.
After many years as rivals, Essel and Silor merged on 1 January 1972 to form Essilor, the then third-largest ophthalmic optical firm in the world.
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Wikipedia