I knew Hoya was buying 3M Safety, but I just received an email saying they were substituting Zeiss/Sola progressives for the Essilor progressives 3M used to offer. Does anyone know why Zeiss progressives? Why aren't they using Hoya products??
I knew Hoya was buying 3M Safety, but I just received an email saying they were substituting Zeiss/Sola progressives for the Essilor progressives 3M used to offer. Does anyone know why Zeiss progressives? Why aren't they using Hoya products??
Because they got a better deal that way .....................
Chris you seem very knowledgeable when it comes to Hoya's operation... Let me know what you think of this... I "intercepted" at VEE 2 Japanese who seemed to be at the very top of the pyramid at Hoya Canada/USA... I really "rattle the cage" so to speak; telling them they intend to compete on this continent head to head with Essilor BUT so many innovative products for Japan solely. I proposed to them to begin a real partnership between Hoya Canada and their lab in Nagano. I gave them the example of Shamir Canada who gets shipment from Israel or Portugal every week... I plainly told them I am tired to deal with a second class Hoya here; When I talked to the director of Hoya Canada, he seemed to be open to such an idea. Was he just polite? Believe it or not, I've been informing for the last 2 years the people at Hoya what Japan has to offer... they have NO DARN CLUE what is going on in the land of the rising sun! This is ridiculous! To give you an example, in Japan they have the EX3 version called Venus... antistatic, UV blockage from the back reflection of the lens and even antifog option AND now a new AR is out called Ray Guard which blocks UV + blue light even better than the Blue Tech lens material. Am I dreaming in color here of will there be a rethinking by Hoya in how they operate?
Last edited by djal; 05-19-2017 at 07:29 PM.
Hoya was first in Canada selling progressive lenses in 1965, years ahead of Essilor.
I was surfacing their lenses lenses for Vilico who was their distributor at that time.
These days they might just sell lenses that some of their large customers want or not be against some patents Essilor might have registered in Canada.
During my lamentable time dealing with Hoya I made a few long-lasting friends inside the company. Their opinion-- as friends and not as Hoya employees-- is that Hoya America is one big write-off for the parent company and that Japan could care less how poorly run or how unprofitable the North America side of things is. From firsthand experience, I believe it. Funny thing is, I don't think the uppity-ups at Hoya NA even know it; they're given free reign to run around like incompetent chickens with their heads cut off, thinking they're doing something, and all the while the folks in Japan are shaking their heads, laughing, and enjoying a hearty tax deduction.
Its a two step process...
1. They are distancing the safety work from their brands so they don't devalue their own branded products which are already way over priced.
2. That 3M lab will most likely be closed very soon and all of the work will be sent to their lab in Thailand where they can produce their own lenses and brands under numerous aliases with different markings for the safety market.
I'm just realizing this discussion continued... I'm still dealing with Hoya... the more I do the more I just don't understand them... they came out with one new "comfort" tint for office workers BUT not at all what they offer in Japan. They offer in Japan the Career Color which is an EXTENSIVE choice of such tints for work environment!!! https://www.vc.hoya.co.jp/products/o...reercolor.html
What is going on with this company???? They have an extensive and extraordinary line of polarized lenses in Japan BUT buy theirs from the USA (grey, brown, green) and now this move!!The only explanation I can come up with is that Hoya here is not the company itself but a somewhat "distributor" going by the name Hoya USA or Hoya Canada using Hoya products and other products also...
The good news I heard lately is that Tokai Japan is looking into entering the North American market... And yes agree.., a darn circus with clowns... this is SO UNJAPANESE. SAD SAD !
Last edited by djal; 02-17-2018 at 05:41 PM.
90% of Hoya's products are made in Thailand, then sent through their NA and Canadian labs to appear as it was local. As for the safety, they won't cheapen their brand in the bottom feeder market, but will use another manufacturer's brands to do so.
It's all a smoke and mirrors show.
However I have not been able to find a deal made to purchase the 3m optical facilities besides the one of the intention to do so, back in 2016.
Maybe it never happened.
http://news.3m.com/press_releases/me...d_acquisitions
This was posted on the other Hoya thread not long ago.
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