Optical Company to Close Its Doors

Sauk Rapids, MN-based X-Cel Optical is closing its doors.

The Sauk Rapids facility will shut down permanently in June 2020, WJON-AM reports.

The operation, part of Essilor of America, primarily manufactures bifocals, trifocals and glass lenses. A company spokeswoman told WJON that decreased demand for those products is a factor in the closure.

The facility has 125 full-time employees, all of whom will be affected. But WJON reports that they will be able to move into jobs at other Essilor-owned facilities in the region if they wish.

Todd Schultz, community development director for Sauk Rapids, told the news outlet that the company plans to move the operations to locations outside the U.S.

Founded in Detroit in 1937, X-Cel Optical is “the only remaining manufacturer of glass lenses and polarized glass lenses in the USA,” according to its website.

Read more at WJON-AM