Henrietta company serving up face shields for Walmart and Sam’s Club

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A previously-established relationship and the ability to turn things on a dime have netted Art-Craft Optical Co. Inc. orders for more than 5 million face shields since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Right around the start of COVID, on a Friday night I got a call from Walmart and Sam’s Club saying, can you put together a program for us for face shield and goggles,” said company Vice President Charlie Eagle. “Over a period from about 10 at night to 6 in the morning, calling around the world and talking to different factories, we were able to put together a fairly large program for Walmart and Sam’s.”

The face shield and goggle program began for employees only and Art-Craft now has shipped more than 1 million products for Walmart Inc. staffers and pharmacy workers, Eagle said.

“Then we developed a retail pack, so we put together a whole retail program and pallet program,” he said. “I think we’ve done 5 or 6 million face shields running through the system. It’s been ongoing.”

Face masks for the general public are available in Sam’s Club locations, Eagle said. Art-Craft has shipped roughly 4,000 pallets of the products, he said. The Henrietta manufacturer has stayed busy the last three months with that work alone.

“It’s been a lot of work, but it’s been kind of fun and interesting at the same time, which is not something that’s usually in our wheelhouse,” Eagle said.

Art-Craft has grown its partnership with Walmart as a result of a 2013 commitment by the nation’s largest employer to source $250 billion more in U.S.-made products over a 10-year period. Art-Craft safety glasses are sold in close to 3,000 Walmart stores nationwide now, up from 600 stores five years ago.

“In the interim, we’ve been working on a ton of new tooling things for the Navy and Air Force and some other folks in the military, on projects that have been jumping out of the different departments and things they want rapidly since COVID, which has been a blessing in disguise,” Eagle noted. “We’re a critical supplier for the warplanes department for any plane across the U.S. Air Force arsenal. If you have a (vision) correction you cannot fly without our frames.”

Art-Craft began sometime between 1912 and 1918, when Eagle’s Swiss toolmaker grandfather, Charles Joseph Eagle, repaired tools and equipment from optical companies such as Bausch & Lomb Inc. and Shuron Ltd. He drove a motorcycle with a sidecar around town picking up the tools, fixing them in his garage and returning them to the companies.

When he outgrew his garage he moved to a building on Water Street. When World War I began, Art-Craft was asked to manufacture eyewear for the U.S. Army. From Water Street, the company moved into the former Pullman Building, a seven-story structure on Plymouth Avenue that is the current home of Buckingham Commons. In 2000 the company moved to its current home on Goodway Drive in Henrietta.

For more than a century, Art-Craft has manufactured dress eyewear such as the parametric 3, a round frame that became popular in the 1930s. The military was particularly fond of the Art-Craft frames, as the round shape fit different lens prescriptions and they were designed to fit well under gas masks.

While Art-Craft continues to make some dress frames, the company has shifted its focus primarily to the safety glass arena. As it turns out, wholesalers and retailers are clamoring for frames and safety glasses that have the “Made in America” seal.

Safety eyewear has changed dramatically in recent years. Buyers aren’t limited to the bulky, clear plastic lenses of yesteryear. Protective glasses now come in fun colors and styles including navy blue and orange, violet, and materials such as metal and acetate. Styles are limited only by the imagination.

Art-Craft employs nearly 100 individuals and did not need to furlough or lay off anyone during the pandemic, Eagle said. In fact, because the turnaround time for military products is so short, Art-Craft wasn’t able to shut down.

“We’ve been open. We’ve been running as best we can here,” he said, noting that the coronavirus downtime has given the company an opportunity to do a little spring cleaning and re-examine its processes. “We’ve got a lot of new stuff in development and our safety program continues to grow.”

Art-Craft has hired Roger Blum as its new plant manager and Eagle said he really took to the job and the safety protocols that had to be put in place during the pandemic.

“He’s been terrific. He has sat down with every employee and explained to them exactly what their rights and responsibilities are. He’s outlined cleaning protocols for every part of the factory,” Eagle said, adding that Art-Craft allocates 20 minutes at the end of each day to thoroughly clean and sanitize the equipment.

“Everyone is waking up to a new reality. As an example, we’re in all the Walmart Vision Centers and all of those have been closed. I think once things start to open up it’s going to be very interesting,” Eagle said. “As the buyer was telling me from Walmart, how do you tell somebody you’re worried about COVID when you’re putting glasses on their face and they’re three inches away from you? What does this do to our new reality? It’ll definitely change how business is done, and hopefully for the better. There are probably some things we gain and lose at the same time.”

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