Essilor International S.A. (Euronext: EF) is a French company producing primarily ophthalmic lenses along with ophthalmicoptical equipment. It is based in Paris, France, and quoted on the EuronextParis Stock Exchange. As one of the 40 largest companies traded in Paris, it is a component of the CAC 40 share index.
Essilor was formed from the merger of ophthalmic firms Essel and Silor in 1972. Essel got its name from the Societe des Lunetiers (SL) which began in France in the middle of the 19th Century. It pursued a strategy based on exports, which enabled it to dominate the world market. As a result of this expansion, it has employees on five continents, and 3 of its 4 R&D centres are located outside France. It is the world's largest maker of ophthalmic lenses, dominating the market on every continent, and Europe's fourth-largest medical equipment firm.
Bernard Maitenaz, engineer at Essilor (and who later became Essilor's CEO), invented varifocals, sometimes called progressive lenses or "no-line bifocals" with his Varilux lens, launched in May 1959. This lens is used to correct presbyopia.
