CNN’S LOU DOBBS TONIGHT FEATURES OPTIMA'S RESOLUTION® LENSES IN ONGOING SERIES ON EXPORTING AMERICA
The Use of American Technology and Innovation at the Company’s Milford, CT Facility Captures National Attention as a Model for Keeping Jobs in the U.S.

Stratford, Conn. (May 4, 2004) – Lou Dobb’s of CNN has taken on the cause of keeping jobs in the U.S. His in-depth series “Exporting America” has tackled the controversial issue of outsourcing, overseas manufacturing and job losses in the U.S. That’s why when he found out about an American company which has gone against the tide and has built a manufacturing facility in the U.S., hired American workers and gained market share in the U.S. while also exporting to overseas markets like China, Russia and Brazil, he took notice. On April 1, 2004 on CNN’s Lou Dobb’s Tonight “Exporting America” series, CNN featured RESOLUTION® lenses and it’s Habilis manufacturing facility in Milford, CT. The feature was hosted by Peter Viles, a veteran CNN reporter, and included a tour of the facility and interviews with an expert from the Industry and Business Council and with the company’s president and CEO, Nick Niejelow.

The CNN feature highlighted the fact that the America ingenuity and technology employed in making RESOLUTION® lenses can more than make up for the economic advantages of cheap overseas labor and manufacturing. By developing a new process for manufacturing polycarbonate and using a multitude of patents, Niejelow has produced a lens that has high value and is in great demand despite its premium price as compared to standard polycarbonate. With that the company has penetrated the elusive Chinese market. While other companies and even local municipalities outsource products and services, RESOLUTION’s Habilis is employing American workers, revitalizing local tool and die industries, using American raw material and providing business to dozens of U.S. manufacturing companies as it builds its new plants.

It’s a story of American brawn and guts taking on the $8.9 billion U.S. eyeglass industry and the growing trend of importing lenses, now at 75% of all lenses sold in the U.S. But it also has to do with preserving the American way of life and giving back something to one’s country, as was made clear during CNN’s Peter Viles interview with the company founder. “I owe something to this country – and I think that if we have the ability to make something from a technological advancement, where we incorporate people that live and work here, I will do my utmost,” said Nicholas Niejelow, president and CEO of Habilis and Optima Inc., the distributor of its RESOLUTION® lenses.

CNN made it clear that RESOLUTION® is an American success story. Domestic demand and distribution by major chains, along with agreements with international distributors, are proof that American entrepreneurs, like Niejelow, can overcome what others perceive as insurmountable obstacles to manufacturing in the U.S. The company’s second plant in the U.S., already in the final planning stages, will perfect the innovation and technology even further and provide it with an even greater edge.

For more about RESOLUTION® lenses, please visit the product web site at www.ResolutionLenses.com. To request collateral materials and for any other trade inquiries, please call Optima at (800) 621-1216 or your Optima sales rep. RESOLUTION® lenses are available nationwide through wholesale laboratories.

March 2, 2004
OPTIMA CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF OPTICAL INNOVATION
Industry Leader Marks Its’ 20th Anniversary

May 5, 2003
OPTIMA’S NEW AMAZON.COM LENS PROMOTION OFFERS
RETAILERS INSTANT $10 INTERNET REWARDS!
Buying Just Two Pairs a Day of HyperView 1.66® Progressive or
HyperIndex 1.66® D28 Lenses Till Christmas Yields a $3,000 Bounty

February 25, 2003
OPTIMA EXTENDS ITS POPULAR GAS CARD REBATE PROGRAM FOR RESOLUTION LENSES AND
ANNOUNCES ITS GRAND PRIZE WINNER
Rebate Program Picks Up Steam as Eyecare Professionals Embrace
the Buy Five Pair Get $10 Gas Card Program