“We thank RG&E for their commitment to working together to improve the economic vitality of this region and to making this an attractive location to grow our business
and add jobs.”
– David Feinstein
Chief Financial Officer
Klein Steel
Bausch & Lomb
Capital Investment Incentive Program
Location
• Rochester
Products
• Contact lenses and lens care products
• Ophthalmic pharmaceutical and surgical products
Project Details
Bausch & Lomb, a world renowned manufacturer of eye health and vision care products, began in Rochester in 1853, when John Jacob Bausch opened a small optical goods shop. A $60 loan from his friend, Henry Lomb, sustained the company until it achieved its first commercial success – the development of revolutionary rubber eyeglass frames that made spectacles less fragile and more affordable. Microscopes, binoculars, camera lenses and shutters followed. The company produced the first optical quality glass made in America, developed sunglasses for the military in World War I and created lenses that took the first satellite pictures of the moon. In 1971, Bausch & Lomb introduced the first soft contact lens, revolutionizing the field of vision correction.
Bausch & Lomb, recently completed an expansion of its R&D facilities on its Optics Center campus in Rochester. RG&E played a vital role in this project by helping offset the costs of the electric infrastructure upgrades through its economic development Capital Investment Incentive Program.
Bausch & Lomb celebrated the grand opening of the 75,000-square-foot research facility in December 2006, two months ahead of schedule. Approximately 200 people will be added to the staff at the Optics Center in association with this expansion, and another 25,000-square-feet of research space could be added in
the future.
Today Bausch & Lomb has more than $2 billion in annual revenues and employs 13,000 workers worldwide. With RG&E's help, it continues to grow in Rochester.
Community Impact
• 200 high-paying research jobs
A Focused- Growth Industry
Imagine an industry where 50% annual growth is considered a “stable, safe” scenario. Where a slow-growth product is expected to increase by only 12% annually. Now, imagine that industry is concentrated in a single state, where 62,000 people make up 15% of the industry’s national work force.1
What is this industry? Where is this growth taking place? The industry is optics and imaging, and the location is upstate New York.
Focused on the future
• Bausch and Lomb is a world leader in the field of eye health and vision correction.
• Corning invented the commercial fiber optic cable and supplies 40% of the world’s demand for this backbone technology.2
• Eastman Kodak continues to make capturing, sharing and using images “as convenient as the pencil” for personal users, as well as for graphics professionals and healthcare users.
• Xerox has become the generic term for
document imaging and management.
A critical mass for development
• New York State is first in the nation for
employment in photonics manufacturing; second for high-technology establishments; and third in high-tech employment.3
• The region’s colleges and universities support high-technology excellence through hundreds of millions of dollars in research and development, several industry-focused research centers, as well as providing a steady flow of well-educated employees.
• In 2004, the state, Corning, Kodak, and Xerox placed the capstone on these efforts with the opening of the $120 million Center for
Excellence in Infotonics in Canandaigua.
Nearby are:
• Center for Advanced Technology (CAT) in Electronic Imaging Systems, University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).
• Center of Excellence in Photonics & Microsystems, Greater Rochester.
• NYSTAR (NYS Targeted Academic Research) Center at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).
Sources:
1,3 Empire State Development, February 2007
http://www.empire.state.ny.us/
2 http://www.corning.com
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