A Vermont Lesson In How To Export To The World

A VERMONT LESSON IN HOW TO EXPORT TO THE WORLD -- (Extensions of Remarks - September 07, 2006)

SPEECH OF HON. BERNARD SANDERS OF VERMONT
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2006

* Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, this year the Small Business Administration selected Robert Johnson of Omega Optical, in Brattleboro, Vermont, as Vermont's Small Business Exporter of the Year. His story, and the company's story, has much to tell us about how the United States can remain competitive in a global economy, and how we can create new manufacturing jobs through innovation and foresight.

* Omega Optical began in 1968--in a garage. Since then, it has grown into a $13 million company that employs over 140 employees. Omega Optical makes, and has always made, filters for optical instruments.

* Robert Johnson did not set out to make a less costly filter, or a slight improvement on a previous filter. Instead, he committed himself and Omega Optical to doing research in optical thin-films, which can be used to control the flow of light. In particular, their research focused on fluorescence, the light emitted from objects illuminated by a very energetic light.

* The filters that Omega Optical developed have played a major role in the burgeoning of biological science in our day. Let me cite a passage from Vennont: An Illustrated History by John Duffy and Vincent Feeney: ``The sciences of fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry, which allow for the visualization of cellular structures and the sorting and analysis of cells, were made possible by design and manufacturing developments invented at Omega. These advances set the state-of-the-art and allowed Omega not only to define the science, but for many years capture the entire market worldwide.''

* Omega's filters are used in not only cellular biology, but also in astronomy and in clinical medicine. Whether scientists look at the enormous spatial universe around us, or the microscopic secrets of genetics and bodily functioning, they use filters not just made, but developed, by Omega Optical.

* What has made Omega so successful, in both manufacturing and the export of manufactured products? A stress on research and long-range development, not just the immediate pursuit of profit; a commitment to moving into new areas and inventing new products; and a dedicated workforce. For clearly Omega Optical shows that American workers, just like American product developers, are the best in the world, and can and do make the best and most competitive products. And by creating a `green' production facility, their `Delta Campus,' the company has shown that safeguarding the environment can be a major piece of a business agenda.

* If we as a Nation think about research and the long-term, as Omega Optical has done, and if we boldly build on our strengths and the capability of our workers, we can move confidently into our future.

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