ESSILOR RECEIVES ISO 9001:2000 CERTIFICATION
Supply Chain Operations Meets World Class Quality Standard

DALLAS -- (January 25, 2005) – Essilor of America, Inc., a global leader in ophthalmic lenses, announced today that its North America Operations (NAOPS) Supply Chain Organization received ISO 9001:2000 certification, marking a major milestone for its Supply Chain business to provide the highest quality service to its customers. TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc., an independent, accredited third-party registrar, conducted the audit.

Through new service offerings and continuously improved effectiveness, the operating system will enable Essilor to respond to the changing needs of customers, both internally and externally. The certification also builds on the ISO 9001:2000 certification of Essilor’s Columbus Distribution Center last year, recognized for its state-of-the-art facility.

“ISO certification for the supply chain organization is a significant additional feather in Essilor’s cap,” said Steve Freedman, vice president, operations and administration for the Essilor Lens Group. “This certification serves to formalize our forecasting and planning processes, which will help ensure we have the products that our customers need at the distribution centers. We strive to meet our customers’ expectations by providing the right product, in the right quantities, at the right time with the right documentation,” he said.

The audit, which occurred during a four-day period in December, found zero major or minor non-conformances. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a network of the national standards institutes of 146 countries, one from each country. Its ISO 9001:2000 standard specifies requirements for a quality management system for any organization that needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently make products that meets customer and applicable regulatory requirements and aims to enhance customer satisfaction.

This certification for Essilor’s Supply Chain organization includes demand planning, transportation, import/export compliance, and information systems development and support.

Independent third-party organizations, such as TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc., perform assessments of management systems against requirements of national and international standards for quality. TUV Rheinland of North America is a global leader in independent assessments.