The way Jeff Wheaton sees it "used" and "low quality" should never be synonymous in the optical equipment industry. Wheaton, President of Florida-based Visions Systems Inc., is out to erase the distinction between new OEM equipment and the pre-owned optical and ophthalmic machines he sells and services.

"When I started this business I consciously set out to erase the misconception that used optical equipment had to be sub-par when it came to quality," says the visionary behind what is now the largest supplier of pre-owned patternless edgers in the industry. "From day one we started focusing on quality. The question was how could we provide eye care professionals pre-owned equipment that was indistinguishable from new OEM equipment." Part of the answer included amassing a vast amount of technical expertise, doing constant research and putting together a staff with more than a century of accumulated experience in the industry. "The machines we supply aren't just 'refurbished.' They're as good as new."

His customers must agree. Vision Systems, also known as VSI, sells upward of 200 patternless edgers (the machines that grind lenses) per year, which amounts to four or five a week. "That's a substantial number," says Wheaton "when you consider that OEMs only sell 150-300 a year."

Wheaton has never been afraid to buy and stock inventory. "We have an essentially unlimited supply of parts and hundreds of edgers in stock." That's a sight for sore eyes for eye care professionals everywhere looking for pre-owned equipment they never have to worry about.

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