Safety eyeglasses made here keep
GIs in Iraq looking good
By Harry Levins
Of the Post-Dispatch
04/30/2005
AROUND ST. LOUIS, almost all of us know that Boeing
makes fighter planes out at Lambert Field. But who among
us knows that SafeVision of Webster Groves also stands
in the ranks of local military contractors?
Apparently, few people beyond SafeVision's five
employees know that the company supplies soldiers in
Iraq and Afghanistan. But thanks to a newspaper story
about sunglasses for soldiers, SafeVision has come to
light.
The story told of a local Marine who credited his $200
fancy shatterproof sunglasses with saving his eyes when
he got smacked in Iraq by a piece of cable. His family
here started a fund drive to buy more of the sunglasses
for the Marine's buddies.
Which makes SafeVision's Joel Wishne wince a bit. He
says that the fancy store-bought sunglasses "are better
than nothing. But ours are certified - and much safer."
Ours" are prescription safety glasses - with
interchangeable clear and tinted lenses - mounted in a
Wiley X SG1 wraparound frame with orbital frame padding
to keep sand and other debris from a soldier's eyes.
Last year, SafeVision outfitted perhaps 1,000 soldiers.
"Almost all were in Iraq or Afghanistan, or about to go
there," says Wishne, the company's chief financial
officer. This year? "It's increasing. It could easily be
2,000."
Military procurement people place three-quarters of the
orders, with the rest coming from individual soldiers.
So what sets Wishne's product apart from store-bought
models?
"The lenses have been rated to withstand high impact,"
says Wishne. "The frames have been rated to have the
lenses either stay in or, if they pop out, to pop
outward. The lenses won't go into your eyes."
SafeVision subcontracts most of its military lens work
to Midland Optical of St. Louis, where 150 workers churn
out 1,700 pairs of glasses each day. Midland President
Matt Iovaldi delights in ushering visitors around his
high-tech plant.
SafeVision is just one of Iovaldi's 350-plus customers -
not a huge account, by any measure. "The huge guys have
their own optical labs," says Iovaldi. Even so, he says,
SafeVision "is among the top 25 of our accounts."
Not bad for a company that got started only six years
ago and turns out such varied products as prescription
motorcycle glasses and prescription diving masks.
Today, military orders bring in one dollar out of every
five the company earns. Wishne wants to get that
military share up to half. Two years ago, he got
SafeVision entered into military databases. Now, he
says, "We're getting a reputation for being good, which
gets us new referrals."
He shares a printout of an e-mail from a warrant officer
handling supplies for a military police battalion in
Iraq. The message ends: "You have been outstanding, and
I will definitely recommend your services to others.
Thanks!!"
Yes, SafeVision's military glasses are available to
civilians. But they're not for your average drugstore
sunglasses buyer. The frames alone go for $95. Add the
prescription tinted lenses ($100) and interchangeable
prescription clear lenses ($80), good for night use, and
you're talking $275 total.
"Of course, we give the government a big discount,
because they're a big customer," says Wishne, who offers
no details on the Pentagon's price.
He thinks SafeVision is one of only 10 or so competitors
in the military field. "There aren't many," Wishne says,
"because it's so specialized."
But he says he's never heard a soldier in Iraq ask for
fancy store-bought sunglasses. "They say, 'I want a
safety frame and safety lenses.'"
Wishne's bottom line: "Soldiers deserve the real thing".
Printable VersionFor more information, call (314) 961-7406 or visit the
company's Web site at http://www.safevision.net. |
SafeVision
is a company based in Missouri providing prescription
safety glasses and safety goggles. We have gathered
the best collection of brand name safety goggles
that have optional Rx inserts for prescription safety
lenses wearers. SafeVision can provide the goggles,
insert, and the prescription safety lenses for your
personnel requiring corrective lenses for their
safety goggles.
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