Bausch & Lomb: 150 years of extraordinary vision
by News Canada
(NC)-In 1853, a young man called John Jacob Bausch set up a small optical goods shop in Rochester, New York. When he needed more money to keep the business going, he borrowed $60 from his good friend Henry Lomb. Bausch promised that if the business grew, Lomb would be made a full partner.
From those humble beginnings, Bausch & Lomb has grown into a world class global eye care company. Along the way, Bausch & Lomb has developed a rich history of impressive achievements and interesting milestones in its 150 years of existence. Here are a few highlights:
Henry Lomb enlisted in the Army and left to fight in the Civil War, sending back his soldier's pay to Bausch to keep the business going.
Scientists like Pasteur were demonstrating that there was a relationship between cell growth, microbes, health and disease. The eldest son of founder J.J. Bausch, Edward Bausch, convinced his father to try manufacturing microscopes. Edward patented the world's first mass-produced microscope and their company won international recognition for its excellent craftsmanship.
In the early 20th century, there was another major development for the company – Bausch & Lomb entered the optical glass business. William Bausch, another son of the founder, began an experimental glass laboratory and Bausch & Lomb soon became the largest American manufacturer of optical glass.
In the 1920s, the U.S. Army Air Corps asked Bausch & Lomb to develop a special optical glass that could overcome the brutal glare conditions encountered by its pilots. After much research, the company produced the Ray-Ban sunglass – which exceeded the exacting Air Corps standards and established a world-class brand.
After World War II, the company commercialized the first Cinemascope motion picture projector lens – allowing filmmakers to produce movies that could be shown on a wide screen without distortion. In 1954, Bausch & Lomb received an Oscar for this contribution to the motion picture industry.
On March 24, 1958, the company's stock was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
As the company entered the 1960s – another revolution was on the horizon. In the late 1950s a Czechoslovakian scientist, Otto Wichterle (Vick-ter-lee), developed and patented a new product – a "soft" contact lens. Bausch & Lomb, which up until then had only produced spectacles for vision correction, took the risk. When Bausch & Lomb received approval in 1971 to market the lens in the U.S., it changed the course of the company and the industry.
Sales of soft contact lenses and associated products helped move Bausch & Lomb into the Fortune 500 largest manufacturing companies by the mid-1970s. And contact lenses and lens care products soon become key to Bausch & Lomb's success.
Today, Bausch & Lomb's varied products are widely distributed and readily available in Canada. Included in this offering are Bausch & Lomb's PureVision™ contact lenses featuring its leading edge technology of silicone hydrogel material which allows greater oxygen permeability resulting in healthier vision and the possibility of sleeping without removing one's contact lenses.
In addition, Bausch & Lomb Canada has recently launched SofLens® Multi-Focal contact lenses for people with presbyopia, as an alternative to wearing bi-focal spectacles, and toric lenses for people with astigmatism.
Bausch & Lomb Canada is a leader in the contact lens care market with the ReNu® and Sensitive Eyes® brands. Bausch & Lomb also has a rapidly growing pharmaceutical franchise including the Ocuvite® and Ocuvite PreserVision® line of ocular nutritional vitamins for the growing number of people suffering from Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).
Beyond contact lenses, lenscare and pharmaceutical products, Bausch & Lomb Canada also has a surgical division.
Bausch & Lomb's surgical division is comprised of the cataract business, which includes intraocular lenses for patients suffering from cataracts, as well as a refractive business which includes the market leading Zyoptix® customized laser surgery platform.
Now in the 21st Century, Bausch & Lomb continues to be focused on eye health and dedicated to perfecting vision and enhancing life.
For more information on Bausch & Lomb Canada, please contact 905-948-7643 or visit www.bausch.com.
- News Canada
Home
Last modified: 05/13/04
 |
