| 1956 | Founded |
|---|---|
| 1957 | Established Itoh Optical Lens Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Capital: 5 million yen) |
| 1958 | Japan’s First — Began manufacturing contact lenses |
| 1964 | Japan’s First — Began manufacturing eyeglass lens coatings |
| 1965 | Began color coating production |
| 1967 | Completed company building (near the current 3rd factory) Established Itoh Optical Co., Ltd. |
| 1968 | Began manufacturing matte color coatings Became a cooperating factory for Nikon Corporation |
| 1969 | Moved headquarters to current location and renamed to Itoh Optical Industrial Co., Ltd. |
| 1970 | Spun off plastic division and established Tokai Seimitsu Industrial Co., Ltd. |
| 1973 | Established joint venture Asatake Lens Co., Ltd. in Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture Developed glass lens multi-coat with 99.8% transmittance |
| 1975 | Completed North Building of headquarters |
| 1976 | Renamed Asatake Lens Co., Ltd. to Etsumi Optical Co., Ltd. Developed special mold mirror polishing system and began manufacturing condenser lenses |
| 1977 | Increased capital to 50 million yen Expanded 3rd factory |
| 1978 | Began manufacturing glass lens color multi-coating Japan’s First — Began manufacturing CR-39 hard coat lenses for eyeglasses |
| 1979 | Expanded North Building of headquarters Japan’s First — Began manufacturing CR-39 multi-coat lenses for eyeglasses |
| 1983 | Began manufacturing CR-39 hard multi-coat lenses for eyeglasses |
| 1984 | Began manufacturing oxygen-permeable hard contact lenses |
| 1985 | Completed new building of Tokai Seimitsu Industrial Co., Ltd. (current 5th factory) Began manufacturing hard multi-coat for medium refractive plastic lenses |
| 1986 | Completed 2nd factory |
| 1988 | Began manufacturing Chemical A.R Exhibited at Vision EXPO in New York |
| 1991 | Released non-fluorocarbon ultrasonic cleaning machines |
| 1993 | Began molding plastic lenses Released impact-resistant “α Coat” (now Primer Hard Multi) |
| 1995 | Began molding 1.60 index lenses (now Abonar) |
| 1997 | Began molding 1.67 index lenses (now Reciente) |
| 1998 | Established T.S.L. Co., Ltd. (Sales to eyeglass retail stores) |
| 2000 | Acquired ISO 9001 (Design, manufacture, and sales of plastic eyeglass lenses) World’s First — Began molding 1.74 index lenses “Anterior” |
| 2001 | Established B.T.O. Co., Ltd. and started eyeglass retail business Launched fxg store concept: “Play with Glasses,” “Impress with Glasses” Released 1.67 index progressive lenses with 12mm corridor “Variar” |
| 2002 | Completed Toyokawa Factory and began manufacturing optical functional components Released 1.50 index progressive lenses with 12mm corridor “Variar Brote” Released super hydrophobic “Splash Coat” |
| 2003 | Released 1.50 index progressive lenses with 8mm corridor “Variar Brote SR” Released 1.67 index progressive lenses with 8mm corridor “Variar SR” |
| 2005 | Released scratch-resistant “Esencia Coat” exceeding glass lens durability Received Director’s Award from Nagoya City Industrial Research Institute Completed new building for Tokai Seimitsu Industrial Co., Ltd. and relocated to current site |
| 2006 | Certified as Aichi Brand Company Released 1.60 index progressive lenses with 12mm corridor “Variar Cielo” |
| 2007 | World’s First — Released color vision deficiency simulation glasses “Variantor” Received Good Design Award World’s First — Jointly developed optical resin with anti-reflective function via microfabrication with AIST Acquired ISO 14001 (Headquarters and Toyokawa Factory) |
| 2008 | Selected as one of the “300 Manufacturing SMEs” by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Released 1.74 double aspheric lenses “Anterior GZ” |
| 2009 | Released heat-resistant “Heat Guard Coat” Released 1.67 polarized lenses “Reciente Polarized” |
| 2010 | Released 1.55 photochromic polarized lenses “Bensel Polarized” Released 1.60 polarized lenses “Abonar Polarized” |
| 2011 | World’s First — Released 1.74 polarized lenses Released golf lenses “Eagle View” Joined Color Universal Design Organization as supporting member “Variantor” received Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award for industry-academia-government collaboration |
| 2012 | Released blue light cut lenses for PC “Blue Light Cut Coat” Received Good Design Award |
| 2013 | Released anti-fog “Amazing Coat” Released 1.60 and 1.67 exterior progressive inner aspheric lenses “Quince” |
| 2014 | Released 99% UV cut lenses “Menimo” Released 1.60, 1.67, and 1.74 inner progressive lenses “Merius” |
| 2015 | Released 1.60 and 1.67 inner progressive near-intermediate lenses “Roomin L” Released 1.67 single vision double aspheric lenses “Reciente FZ” |
| 2016 | Released progressive lenses for convergence insufficiency “CIF-V” Released extended depth-of-field lenses “ES Lens” Released half photochromic lenses Received Good Design Award |
| 2017 | Released high curve optimized design lenses “Sports RS” “ES Lens” received Nagoya City Mayor’s Award in the Industrial Technology Grand Prix |
| 2018 | Selected as a “Regional Future Driving Company” by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Released ultra water-repellent “Lotus Coat” |
| 2019 | Released “RARTS” Exhibited at SID International Symposium (San Jose, USA) Released aged crystalline lens simulation glasses “Senior View” Exhibited at IOFT 2019 Released 1.60, 1.67, and 1.74 double design progressive lenses “Esperance” |
| 2020 | Released 1.60, 1.67, and 1.74 individual design lenses “Gradual” |
| 2021 | Released ultra low-reflection coating “Ultra Low Reflection” |
| 2022 | World’s First — Released biomass-certified plant-based material lenses “Botanical” |
| 2023 | Released high myopia lenses with significantly reduced thickness “Slim View” |
