This year, JCB launched a range of branded prescription safety glasses with retailer Specsavers, testing a new market for its already diverse branding.
JCB (J. C. Bamford Excavators Ltd.) currently licences about 50 companies which sell millions of products such as tools, batteries and toys featuring the JCB name every year.
The company has now joined forces with Specsavers Corporate Eyecare to launch the safety eye wear.
Senior JCB Licensing Manager, Paul Tudor – based at JCB’s World HQ, in Rocester, Staffordshire, UK – spoke about the venture. He said: “The reaction to the launch has been fantastic with thousands of pairs of the JCB safety glasses sold already.
We worked very closely with Specsavers on the designs and we are delighted with the results.
Overall, 20 JCB frames are being made available in men’s, women’s and unisex designs under the licensing agreement between the two firms. They are available from Specsavers’ stores in Ireland and the UK with metal and polycarbonate frames with a range of lenses suitable for a variety of industrial settings.
Backhoe loader assembly operative Brett Archer tries out the new JCB safety glasses
The glasses feature side shields bearing the well-known JCB logo. By the end of this year, the company hopes to have all of its more than 1,700 Specsavers stores offering the JCB range around the world.
Specsavers Corporate Eyecare Director of Strategic Alliances, Jim Lythgow, said: “We have subjected more than 440 pairs of prescription safety glasses to extremely rigorous tests. As you would expect from Specsavers and JCB, these glasses are tough!
Our research has always shown that style and comfort are really important in safety eyewear.
Lythgow expanded on the range designed, saying that it included various types such as “chunky, wrap-around glasses”, “the distinctive black and yellow of JCB”, and “metallic blue and satin silver” glasses.
Lens options for the eye-wear include bifocals, varifocals, polycarbonate lenses, toughened glass, clip-on UV tints, tints, UV treatment, anti-reflection treatment, reaction lenses and ultra-clear treatment.
