ESSILOR RANKS AS ONE OF THE 100 MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES IN THE WORLD
Forbes magazine has nominated the Company for the fourth consecutive year, ranking it third after Hermès and Iliad For the fourth consecutive year, Essilor has been selected by Forbes magazine as one of the 100 most innovative companies in the world, ranking third among the French companies listed after Hermès and Iliad. This renewed acknowledgement rewards the strategy of the Group, which yearly invests over 150 million euro in Research&Development. Indeed, 40% of its turnover is yielded by products launched during the past 4 years, and patents deposited just in 2013 are more than one hundred. Globally, the Group ranks 49th among the 100 companies chosen by Forbes, such as Unilever, Amazon and Netflix. The Essilor Group is a pioneer as regards every goal achieved in the history of optical products (organic lenses, progressive lenses, photochromic lenses, and so on). The variety of innovations developed does not only cover the field of products designed to correct and protect vision against UV rays but also that of prevention (for instance, against the hazardous effects of blue light, one of the causes of AMD). Essilor pursues this strategy by constantly investing throughout the world. In 2014 the Group inaugurated its third Centre for Innovation and Technology in Créteil, after the ones in Dallas and Singapore. It is the largest private campus in the world dedicated to research on ophthalmic optics. Every day about 500 researchers of the Group based in various parts of the world fully focus on research and development of innovative solutions to improve the vision of 4.3 billion people in the world who need it, aware that the loss of international economic productivity resulting from poor vision has reached 275 billion dollars a year. "Ongoing innovation in the field of ophthalmic optics has become a crucial priority, considering progressive aging of the population, the increased incidence of vision-related defects, such as myopia and presbyopia, and the growing presence of blue light issued by LCD screens and LED lamps. Actors in the sector are called to face the challenge of successfully developing increasingly cutting edge solutions for correction, protection and prevention in order to meet every demand in terms of visual wellbeing," says Jean Carrier, who was recently appointed Head of Operations of the Essilor Group and Manager of the Research&Development sector. "Ranking our Group among the most innovative companies in the world for the fourth consecutive year, Forbes magazine acknowledges the effort made by all Essilor employees who daily work to improve vision and, hence, the life of the population." In its approach to innovation, the Group makes use of an extensive network of international partnerships with universities, companies and specialists in revolutionary technologies, such as the Institut de la Vision in France, the NEIJRC (Nikon-Essilor International Research Centre) in Japan, and the University of Montreal in Canada. The most recent innovations implemented by the Group include: - Varilux® S e Varilux® E, new generation progressive lenses that, with Nanoptix TM technology, ensure clear vision at all distances without the need for adjustments; - Crizal® Prevencia™, the first clear lens that can selectively protect the eyes from UVA-UVB rays, and from hazardous BLUE-VIOLET LIGHT, reducing the risk of AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration); - Crizal® UV, the first clear lens that can protect the eyes from frontal UVA-UVB rays, and from hazardous radiations reflected in the eyes from the internal surface of the lens, thus minimizing the risk of developing a cataract; - Optifog®, the first clear lens with anti-fog treatment.
