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The contact lens industry, known for its high profitability, has become a fiercely competitive battleground. Established players like St. Shine and Ginko have been defending their turf, while tech giants such as Largan, Pegatron, BenQ Dialysis, and Hitron have recently entered the fray. Amid this competitive landscape, new entrants like PEGAVISON, Vizionfocus, and Visco have emerged victorious, prompting industry observers to question: why are newcomers outperforming the veterans?
According to research from Uni-President Investment Consulting, the choice of manufacturing process at the outset is crucial to success in the contact lens industry. Two key factors are pivotal: "injection molding" surpassing traditional "spin casting," and "UV curing" replacing "thermal curing."
Uni-President's analysis indicates that injection molding allows for fine-tuning of surface parameters to accommodate variations in eye shapes. Moreover, the increasingly diverse patterns of cosmetic lenses necessitate injection molding, as spin casting struggles with producing complex lens patterns. Over a decade ago, spin casting was a cutting-edge technology; however, Largan Precision's investment in Largan Medical, which utilized spin casting, ultimately failed to compete with injection molding manufacturers.
Additionally, thermal curing was the mainstream method in earlier times, employed by companies like Yung Sheng and St. Shine's Taichung plant. However, newer techniques such as UV curing have since gained prominence. Companies like Pegatron's Acuvue and Changhua's Vizionfocus have adopted UV curing. Unlike thermal curing, which requires manual handling and baking, creating a production bottleneck and affecting automation and yield, UV curing offers a seamless dry lens process with no interruptions. This results in higher automation, production efficiency, yield, and cost advantages, which have been crucial to the success of Acuvue and Vizionfocus.
Preliminary statistics show that in 2024, Taiwan's monthly contact lens production capacity will reach 288 million lenses, while China's capacity is 32 million lenses, only 11% of Taiwan's. Contact lens production requires not only equipment but also long-term adjustments in manufacturing and parameters. Based on Taiwan's experience, it takes over five years of mass production to achieve a comfortable wear level. Furthermore, cost reduction is a critical factor for success. The new generation of companies like Acuvue and Vizionfocus, with their electronics industry backgrounds, have driven rapid growth in performance and profitability through high automation and cost reduction. Vizionfocus, in particular, has established a factory in China, saving 10% on import tariffs and 5%-10% on transportation costs in the Chinese market, while significantly shortening delivery times. This positions Vizionfocus as a potential future industry leader.
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