Craig Chick, Managing Director of HOYA ANZ.

HOYA has celebrated its 50th anniversary in Australia and New Zealand with an event for partners, customers, and employees in Sydney.

Founded in 1941 in Tokyo, Japan, HOYA opened its first Australian office in Surry Hills, Sydney, in 1974, before expanding its footprint across the country’s major capitals and into Auckland, New Zealand.

At a time when local labs typically ground and coated lenses, the global technology and med-tech company distinguished itself from the outset, only offering lenses exclusively manufactured and sold by HOYA. According to Craig Chick, Managing Director of HOYA ANZ, it was by “maintaining strict control over the production process” that the company “ensured unparalleled quality, setting a standard that has become industry-wide practice today”.

A LEGACY OF INNOVATION

HOYA’s legacy of innovation began with the introduction of multicoat to glass lenses in 1963. This advancement reduced reflective surfaces, setting a new benchmark for lens clarity. Mr Chick said the introduction of light (1.7) and thin (1.8) high-index glass lenses, further established HOYA as a technological pioneer.

“Over the past six decades, HOYA has led the way in lens coating technologies” he said citing key milestones including:

• 1976: First successful anti-reflective coating on plastic lenses.

• 1987: Introduction of Hi-Vision 99, offering long-lasting durability and scratch resistance.

• 2009: Launch of Diamond Finish, doubling the scratch resistance of previous coatings.

• 2023: Unveiling Hi-Vision Meiryo Diamond, boasting 56% lower reflectance, five times longerlasting ‘easy-to-clean’ features, 2.5 times better scratch resistance, and 100% UV protection.

CONTRIBUTING TO MYOPIA MANAGEMENT

In 2020, HOYA launched MiyoSmart to the Australia/New Zealand market, a lens featuring hundreds of Defocus Incorporated Micro Lenses (D.I.M.S) in a condensed area in the centre to reduce myopia progression. Initially launched in China and Hong Kong, Mr Chick reported that “MiyoSmart is now sold into over 35 countries, with more than two million children benefiting globally”.

“This innovation has significantly raised awareness and advanced myopia management worldwide,” he observed.

ONE VISION SUSTAINABILITY

One Vision, HOYA’s sustainability framework, is focussed on creating a connected, conscious, and impactful organisation emphasising three pillars:

Environmental Sustainability: Reducing carbon emissions and environmental footprint, exemplified by a 2.7 MWh solar installation at HOYA’s main factory in Bangkok,

Community Outreach: Supporting underprivileged communities through partnerships with organisations like Orbis International and Cambodia Vision Foundation, and

Workplace Wellbeing: Fostering a healthy, supportive environment for HOYA employees globally.

The company has set the ambitious targets of being carbon neutral in operations in 10 years, and utilising 100% renewable energy by 2040, and 60% by 2030.