BAUSCH & LOMB ANNOUNCES INVESTMENT OF MORE THAN $30 MILLION IN NEXT GENERATION CONTACT LENS MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY.ROCHESTER, NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 31, 1995--Bausch & Lomb (NYSE:BOL) today announced it will commit more than $30 million to install the next generation of soft contact lens contact lens, thin plastic lens worn between the eye and eyelid that may be used instead of eyeglasses. Actors, models, and others wear them for appearance, and athletes use them for safety and convenience. Contact lenses may also be used to correct certain abnormalities of the eye that cannot be corrected by regular glasses. A. E. Fick, a Swiss physician, made the first contact lens in 1887. manufacturing technology. This capital investment for new equipment follows the successful completion of the first phases of a joint development program with IBM for systems design and prototype production. The new technology will significantly reduce the unit manufacturing cost of the company's soft contact lens products and substantially increase its contact lens unit production capacity. Bausch & Lomb said the new manufacturing technology will initially be used to make its new high-water disposable product, SofLens 66, which will be introduced in the United States later this year. Clinical testing indicates the new high water lens, made from a patented new polymer, provides outstanding visual acuity visual acuity n. and patient comfort. Sharpness of vision, especially as tested with a Snellen chart. Normal visual acuity based on the Snellen chart is 20/20. Daniel E. Gill, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "The significant competitive strengths inherent in our new lens products and state-of-the-art manufacturing technology will enable Bausch & Lomb to increase its participation in the global disposable lens market and to do so on an increasingly profitable basis." CONTACT: Bausch & Lomb Barbara M. Kelley 716/338-5386 (office) 716/621-7141 (residence) |
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