Global leader and the one-stop solution for all kinds of contact lens care, Avizor is now poised to enter another sector, ophthalmology
Avizor is a global leader in the manufacturing of products for the cleaning and maintenance of all types of contact lenses along with artificial eye drops. Launched in 1981 as a family business by pharmacist S. Nestares with its headquarters and production centre in Torrejon de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain, the company started with the production of Spanish private label products but soon launched its own Avizor brand.
In the nearly four decades that followed the company has grown in leaps and bounds and currently stands in a frontline position beating almost all its competitors to emerge as a global force in the contact lenses eyecare industry. Currently the company exports over 80 per cent of its production to more than 60 countries.
The Growth
After five years of hands-on experience and rigorous internal training, Avizor executed its first export order to Germany in 1986. Though this was a private label, the company had its first brush with a new market that had exacting standards. Adaptation to these standards was comfortably easy thanks to the experience the company had in the local market. In the next decade the company harnessed its energies and concentrated on growth, development and in-house innovation.
Finally in 1995, it patented its premier product One Step. The same year, the company also obtained the European CE certificate of ‘Full Quality Assurance System’ and the EN-ISO 13485 certification, which fulfils the requirements of the EN-ISO 9001 Norm for Health Care products.
By 1998, the second generation of Nestares was ready to join the workforce. The company’s commitment to customer satisfaction and the specific care taken to preserve and enhance product quality was reinforced by the new generation of company leaders.
The keyword soon became expansion. Large scale investment for factory modernisation, restructuring and enlargement was on the cards. A more professional structure based on the erstwhile familiar structure was envisioned and put into action. Finally in 2002, Nestares created a board of directors and distribution of the Avizor brand worldwide became the main business.
By 2010, the company was on rock solid ground and the need for a new factory space to accommodate the new facilities and to take that quantum leap into growth, was executed. The secret to their success was the deep-rooted dedication and the constant desire to be the vanguard in eye care by developing products that are specific, innovative and sensitive to clients’ demands.
With an increasing presence in the international market with over 80 per cent of their products being sold there, it was important to forge new alliances and make strategic investments. The following couple of years were dedicated towards this. Cost control along with quality control became the need of the hour. A major concern was the guarantee of plastic supply and to assure the supply of the critical plastic materials, the company stopped the usage of generic bottles and started creating its own moulds. The company also started thinking of expansion of another kind. A new line of business–ophthalmology.
In 2013, the factory moved to a new production plant, measuring 6500 sq mt, in Leganes in Madrid. With this move, the company stepped into another league altogether. Now they had the capacity to produce 50 m bottles along with a capacity of producing 4000 L/H pure water.
The installations for the manufacturing of bottles were in compliance with GMP while the water-plant met with FDA standards. Finally what they had on hand was a clean steam generator, 6 compounding tanks of 10,000 litres, 5 independent sterile rooms of Class A and B and 5 sterile production lines.
Soon with increased production, it became imperative to speed up the international development and build and develop the new line of business, ophthalmology.
In 2016, Avizor crossed another important milestone. Venture capital fund was introduced in the company and a marked 10 % increase in international development with respect to brand presence in optical distribution, retailing and pharmacy, was recorded.
The Products
Over the years, Avizor had introduced several new products in the market guided by the forces that generated the need for the products. Some of the premium products it launched were the Alvera–the all-in-one solution for silicone hydrogel lenses with Aloe Vera as a moisturizing and eye protective agent – and Lacrifresh Ocu-Dry 0,20% & 0,30% –ophthalmic eye drops for moderate to severe dry eyes symptoms– in GCC countries.
In Saudi Arabia, it launched Lacrifresh Moisture Unidose, a unique product that soothed ocular dryness, irritation and eye strain. In Malaysia, it launched Ever Clean Hydrogen Peroxide System, regarded as the highest cleaning and disinfection agent for every type of contact lens.
The products have now incorporated the latest advances like protein removers and moisturizing agents and are now being marketed worldwide for all kinds of contact lenses including the new generation of silicone hydrogel lenses.
Some of the popular brand names are All Clean Soft Plus: the most efficient solution with protein remover for high demanding users, Unica Sensitive the solution for users with sensitive eyes, All Clean 1 Day / Unica Sensitive Unidose, the new single-dose format of 10 millilitres that makes for a great travel companion and Alvera, the aloe vera product that is the most natural way to protect the eyes.
Another premium product of the company is Ever Clean which is regarded as one of their major production achievements for the way its revolutionary formula cleans and disinfects all type of contact lenses. This self-action patented system eliminates daily protein deposits without ever having to rub the lenses, and no risks for allergies as it is preservative free!
Avizor International SL also has a range of peroxide systems, enzyme tablets, saline solutions and eye washes with antibacterial bath, preservative-free and unidose products. The company also has specific solutions for rigid and gas permeable contact lenses.
Recently and additionally the company enhanced its range of Lacrifresh Eye Drops (Cleaning, Comfort & Moisture 0,1% HA) with the new “Ocu-Dry” Ophthalmic drops with 0,2% and 0,3% of Hyaluronic Acid, both highly effective in the treatment of moderate to severe dry eyes.
The company also owns various worldwide patents eve as it improves the quality of its existing products.
The complete range of Avizor’s All-In-One solutions for instance, have evolved dramatically from the time of its launch in the early 80s.
Future Eye
Today, Avizor has a marked presence in the Middle East and South East Asia thanks to the several distributor partnerships that it has made. Their products are now available in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam.
There has been a steady increase of sales and products including contact lens solutions and eye drops in these countries for the last 5 years. The increase has been recorded as 12% per year, quite a remarkable feat.
Avizor plans, in the latter months of 2016 the launching of five products in China, thus crossing yet another milestone.
