About FEA

A message from my father, Bill Heffner, President, FEA Industries

FEA started in 1984 in the basement of my house, doing 20 jobs per day. Thirty years later, we have three separate facilities and produce over 1,700 jobs per day.


I've been in the business for 48 years, working with my own father at Philadelphia Optical. When I created FEA, many people told me that I was nuts to go into wholesale. Forget 'em all, I thought, and I created the company anyway.


At FEA, we're focused on technology. That focus is centered on both the latest in manufacturing technology coupled with software deployment. We make use of two conventional and six free-form production lines, with our newest production line allowing us to produce glass lenses using free-form technology. All of our production lines are integrated using software developed by OtherBill (my son) and myself. OtherBill has his Masters in Software Engineering, and I have been writing code since I was a kid.


FEA is focused on providing our customers with the cutting-edge in lens technology. In our AR coating facility, we have a wide range of coatings, which include standard AR, mirrors, and even blue-light anti-reflective coatings. Our in-house Independence® AR with U.V. comes with a lifetime patient replacement warranty. In our free-form lens designs, we offer a full complement of IOT designs. Today, we are the only lab in the US that offers fifteen different free-form designs in mineral glass including 1.80 index.


FEA offers a family of affordable house-brand lens designs (15) that can be tailored to each specific patient. This enables Eyecare Professionals to pick the optimal lens for the lifestyle of each patient, thus maximizing patient satisfaction and loyalty. This also differentiates your practice from the online merchandiser or large chain stores, by offering custom lenses for each patient. Together, we can keep the independent provider strong. Even if you don’t support FEA, please support your independent family owned laboratory.


Bill Heffner
President
FEA Industries