NXT name is bought by US manufacturer

A Pittsburgh company has bought one of Europe's largest optical manufacturers.

PPG Industries, the US maker of optical resins, has bought Intercast Europe, the Palma-based business which claims to be the global leading manufacturer of non-prescription hard resin sunlenses.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, also includes related manufacturing operations in Thailand, and additional distribution and production facilities in Italy and Hong Kong.

Intercast manufactures non-prescription lenses from NXT, a proprietary monomer based on the same patented polyurethane-based chemistry for impact-resistant ophthalmic applications as the Trivex monomer for prescription lenses. NXT is now being used in sports eyewear, through partnerships with sports eyewear manufacturers.

PPG Industries introduced the first hard resin lens material, CR-39 monomer, in 1945 and is the majority owner of Transitions Optical, the supplier of photochromics to optical manufacturers worldwide, as well as International Polarizer, described as the world's largest manufacturer of sunglass polariser.

Rick Elias, PPG's vice-president of optical products, said: 'These acquisitions will make PPG the pre-eminent supplier of durable, lightweight and optically clear lens material for the growing impact-resistant lens segment. It strengthens PPG's optical products portfolio and expands the global presence of our optical materials group.'