An Australian lens manufacturer says investing in locally made products is more than just securing a good supply chain. It’s also about securing the future of the country’s youth workforce.
A country full of warehouses but lacking the skilled young people making the products to fill them.
That’s Mr Adam Fletcher’s key concern and argument for promoting products branded with the “Australian-made” sticker – and the manufacturing that supports it. Fortunately, the CEO of Australia’s largest independent ophthalmic lens manufacturer has a blueprint that he hopes will enhance both the local optical and manufacturing industries.
“In a lot of industries, the products they make are becoming less and less manufactured here in Australia,” he says.
“Among our 53 staff we employ a lot of young people and we’re actually providing a future for them. So it is about the future and providing a craft, education, work skills, and having manufacturing here in Australia.”
CR Labs has long been a leader in the Australian optical manufacturing industry and today completes approximately 1,200 jobs a day. It is well-known for its innovative, high-quality lens production, original designs and customer service, and considers itself a pioneer in the Australian market, providing independents with the opportunity to shine with high quality of lenses suited to all frame types.
Among the major lens suppliers, it’s one of, if not the only, company that surfaces its lenses in Australia.
Fletcher’s company, launched in 1976 by his father, Mr Ray Geake, is planning for a self-sustaining future, with a succession plan that not only includes his own family – “I’ve got my son working in the business” – but also the development of an academy to teach young people the fundamentals of optics and even basic hand skills to work in manufacturing.
“We believe that the future of independent optometry lies in nurturing talent and empowering the next generation,” says Fletcher.
As part of that, CR Labs is developing educational initiatives to equip young minds with essential industry knowledge.
“Through hands-on training, workshops, and partnerships with educational institutions, we aim to foster a deeper understanding of optics, lens technologies, and manufacturing processes, ensuring that the next wave of professionals is prepared to drive Australia’s optical industry forward. “Our investment in optometry professional services only reinforces our dedication to these educational initiatives for optometry and dispensing.”
Fletcher says this training and wider support for local manufacturing is vital in the face of well-documented supply chain issues, for the future workforce and the current retailers negotiating a tough, tricky economy.
A steady supply of issues
According to experts, those issues are likely to continue into 2025 and beyond.
Professor Vinh Thai, a supply chain expert from RMIT’s College of Business and Law, says 2024 has been another tough year for supply chains because of ongoing geopolitical risks, including Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine and the escalating war in the Middle East.
Also, “the high cost of fuel has made supply chains much more expensive and also fragile”.
He expects that fragility to continue in 2025.
“Although supply chains in 2024 have been performing better than in 2023, there lies ahead a plethora of supply chain issues in 2025 as there has been, so far, no concrete sign that the current chaotic uncertainties will be eased soon.
“Hence, retailers need to constantly scan their supply chain environment and address issues as they arise early and proactively.”
For Fletcher, that mitigation of risk for retailers involves scanning for products made in Australia, and supporting local manufacturing.
That includes the eye care sector, in which CR Labs is the biggest manufacturer of surfaced – and glazed – lenses located in Australia.
His company services the independent practices exclusively, which are under pressure from a growing corporate share of the market.
“When I started working with dad, the market was 80% independent,” he says.
“We flash forward 35 years, and it’s much smaller now.”
Fletcher believes those independents benefit from a number of advantages in dealing with a local manufacturer.
“I think the greatest things that we offer are our quality, our service, and our speed,” he says.
“On average, our turnaround time is four days, so if you go into an optometrist on a Saturday, you can come back next Saturday and pick up your pair of glasses.”
That quicker turnaround means less time for a customer to have second thoughts. “You look at the market at the moment and people are probably a little bit shy on spending money, so that longer turnaround provides more time for buyer remorse.
“If the glasses are good quality and they are turned around quickly, the patient is then happy with the purchase and they have less time to think about it.”
The company has invested in its own testing facility as well, so lenses are no longer sent overseas for quality control.
That means CR Labs lenses are tested to Australian conditions and standards.
“Australia standards actually exceed the global standard in terms of what the expectation is, because Australia is one of the harshest environments in the world,” he says.
“You can’t just have it as a standard European standard, because our standards far exceed that, which means we can offer the best warranty for products.”
He also believes issues with global supply chains will likely push up the prices of products imported into Australia, including eyewear.
“The cost of goods, particularly freight coming into Australia, could rise significantly if tensions in the Middle East escalate, potentially impacting trade routes and global supply chains,” he says.
Keeping it in the family
But Fletcher acknowledges that his company is also vulnerable to the rising costs of overseas materials brought into Australia and used in making its lenses.
“Once upon a time, if you go back 20 years ago, we used to have local casting in Adelaide, but they no longer manufacture in Australia.”
But the company has adapted and mitigated the risk by warehousing product and softening the supply chain highs and lows.
There are other challenges for manufacturers in Australia, from rising operational costs and navigating supply chain disruptions to competing with lower-cost overseas production.
There is also the constant battle of regulation standards that must be met.
But Fletcher says CR Labs remains “committed to local manufacturing, ensuring high-quality, Australian-made products that meet the needs of independent optometrists.
“Our focus on innovation and advanced technologies, like the CR Tower and AustralisVR, reinforces our dedication to sustainable growth despite these pressures.”
What has helped the company handle the highs and lows for almost 50 years is supportive customers.
“We’re one of the oldest manufacturers in Australia, and the practices have remained extremely loyal through our journey.
“CR continues to have significant growth right across the country, particularly in New South Wales.”
In partnership with Safilo, those businesses and others get access to Carrera Authentic Lenses, for which CR Labs is the only authorised laboratory in the world.
“This exclusive partnership not only reinforces our global standing but also ensures the creation of more jobs here in Australia,” says Fletcher.
“By keeping production local, we secure employment opportunities, strengthen the domestic optical industry, and continue to offer world-class products that benefit independent optometrists nationwide.”
Those products provide a point-of-difference for many of those practices, helping them maintain a profile and market share in a competitive industry.
More importantly, it’s an investment in the future of not only the optometry industry and the workforce it will rely on, but also the goal of keeping Australia strong and self-reliant.
“When you look at the young people that are coming through, they’re our future,” says Fletcher.
“They’re the ones that we need to look after. And it’s not only from a manufacturing perspective, it’s also from a professional perspective as well, to be able to provide people with a choice, being able to provide people with some freedom.”
That’s important to Fletcher. His father brought him into the business as a full-time apprentice in Optical Surfacing and Fitting in 1989. He only intended to stay a year or two before moving on, but 35 years later he’s still there.
“It was the longest apprenticeship known to man.”
Now his son, Cooper, is involved. He’s training as an AR (Anti-Reflective) specialist.
“Here we go. Similar thing to me, and I thought ‘I know where this is going’.”
Unlike the father, the son might only stay a year or two before moving on. Or maybe, like his dad, he’ll still be there after 35 years.
But that’s only going to happen if people continue to buy local, continue to support local manufacturing, continue to offer his son and many others the choice.
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