Looking at labs: Optimum performance

Independent ophthalmic labs have had a rough time of it over the past decade. Many have been enveloped by corporations, while others have simply fallen by the wayside, unable to cope with evolving market conditions.

Success stories in the sector are few and far between, but it would be hard to describe the journey of Lancashire-based Optimum of Coatings as anything but that. Indeed, the company has expanded and now operates under the banner Optimum RX Group.

The business, founded in 2001, was acquired by current owners, managing director Paul Bailey and sales director Mark Marland in 2011. Not in the rude health of today, the business was perilously close to receivership until Bailey and Marland stepped in. To turn things around, a strategy was devised to transform the business from a contract coating services provider into a profitable full-service lens manufacturer, with the potential to be scaled up when the time was right.