1986
October
SDC Established

SDC established as a joint venture between Swedlow Coatings & Dow Corning.

1989
February
Asia Expansion

SDC partnered with Nippon Sheet Glass for Asian Expansion.


1995
July
SDC European Expansion

Opened European Site – Cwmbran, Wales, UK of Great Britain.

2001
Certification

SDC became ISO 9001 (Quality) Certified.

2008
June
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. Acquired SDC

Leader of Premium High Index Optical Monomers MR™ Series.

SDC operates as an independent wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsui.

2010
December
Acquired Global Leader in Anti-Fog Coating Systems

Acquired the assets of Film Specialties, Inc. (Est. 1986) and created FSI Coating Technologies, Inc.

2011
April
MCI Acquired Acomon AG
Acomon AG (Est. 1980); low-index monomers for ophthalmic resins

2012
March
August
Visgard® Premium Coatings

FSI Coating Technologies launched Visgard Premium LTF-300 anti-Fog coated film and Visgard Premium Plus anti-fog coatings.

2013
February
MCI Acquired KOC > MLTECH
KOC Solution Co., Ltd. (currently ML Tech) Est. 1999; mid– and high-index monomers for ophthalmic resins.

2013
October
SDC Singapore Office

SDC Asia-Pacific established Singapore to expand operations across Asia.

2014
August
Purchased Majority Ownership of Lens Technology I

SDC purchased majority ownership in Lens Technology I, LLC (LTI), (Est. 1986), ophthalmic UV-cure hard coatings and equipment (renamed LTI Coating Technologies).

2015
September
CrystalSpin® Coater

SDC introduced UV Curable Spin Coater and CrystalCoat® scratch resistant coating.

2016
June
Visgard® Elite Coating

FSI Coating Technologies launched Visgard Elite premium anti-fog coating.

2017
June
FormGard® 100 Coating

SDC launched FormGard® 100 thermoformable primerless abrasion resistant coating.

2017
June
LTI Integration

LTI fully integrated into SDC Technologies coatings product line.

2017
July
ClearChoice™ Product Selector Tool

SDC launched ClearChoice™ Interactive Product Selector Guide.

2020
October
Acquired COTEC GmbH

SDC acquired COTEC GmbH (Est. 1997): PVD finishing materials, CVD thin film applications and coatings.

2021
August
Visgard® UV Anti-Fog Coatings & CrystalSpin® Coater

FSI launched Visgard® UV anti– fog coating and CrystalSpin® UV AF anti-fog coater.


2022
November
Acquired Coburn Technologies

SDC acquired Coburn Technologies (Est. 1954), the leader in ophthalmic equipment, consumables, and services in all phases of lens production.

2023
March
Velocity Lens Coater

Coburn Technologies and FSI launched anti-Fog coating for Velocity Lens Coater.

2023
September
Photochromic Spin Coating System

SDC and Coburn launched Photochromic Spin Coating System.

2023
January
Coburn 70th Anniversary
2024
January
COTEC Hydrophobic Coating Printer

SDC subsidiary COTEC GmbH unveiled Coating Printer—World’s First Hydrophobic Industrial Printer.

2024
March
New Digital Lens Processing Platforms
2024
June
ISO 14001:2015 EMS Certification
ISO 14001:2015 EMS Certification Awarded to SDC for environmental management systems.

2024
August
Strategic Alliance

SDC entered strategic alliance with James Robinson Speciality Ingredients for photochromic dyes.

2024
December
Final Shipment of SGX Pro Lens Generator
2025
January
2025
June
Coburn Expanded Huvitz Product Line
2025
July
Strategic Investment and Collaboration Agreement
2025
August
Coburn Introduced HPE-990 Lens Edger

SDC subsidiary Coburn introduced the new HPE-990 Lens Edger, the Premium In-Office Lens Finishing System.

2025
November
SDC Headquarters Expansion

SDC new global headquarters in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA.

2026
October
SDC 40th Anniversary

SDC Technologies celebrated 40 years of product innovation.