Paul Bailey came in as co-owner, joining Martin Harwood as directors of the business.
'My background is not in the optical industry but in other fields of manufacturing and business,' says Bailey. 'The previous co-owner and myself shared the same accountants so when he came to retire I had the opportunity to take over his shares.'
Conversely Harwood was first bitten by the optical bug during his teenage years, and was appointed technical manager of Optimum Coatings when it was founded in 2001. 'My uncle was an optometrist in North Yorkshire so I went to work there as work experience during the school holidays. I qualified as a dispensing optician at Bradford University and worked in a practice for 17 years including working as a group practice manager for various independents and multiples. In 2001 I was ready for a change and that was when the chance to help start up Optimum came along.'
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