 | James Robinson Ltd has won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category. These highly prestigious awards are granted by Her Majesty the Queen to British companies for exceptional achievements in areas of innovation, international trade and sustainable development.
This award is in recognition of the development of a range of novel patented photochromic dyes for ophthalmic lenses, marketed under the Reversacol brand, which make use of multiple absorption peaks within a single molecule to achieve neutral shades. These reduce the need to mix dyes of different colours to achieve the neutral grey and brown shades desired by the consumer. This helps to avoid the formulation difficulties associated with mixing dyes of varying photochromic properties, where the challenge is to balance dye speed to ensure uniform lens colour throughout the fade process.
The innovation has come as a result of many years of research by James Robinson into the design of molecules with photochromic properties, working in partnership with the University of Leeds.
Commenting on this award, Dr Brendan Catlow, Managing Director of James Robinson says “We are delighted to have received this recognition for the development of these unique dyes, which are the result of a combination of our unique patented photochromic technology with an understanding of the requirements of the ophthalmic market.”
“Our photochromic dyes have already led us into many new markets, through their versatile use in plastics, inks and coatings. These markets range from ophthalmic lenses to mobile phone covers, sportswear and even toys. Through our continuing research we are learning how to tailor the response characteristics of photochromic molecules, opening up new possibilities for use in fields such as security marking and electronics”.
This award crowns a remarkable 12 months for James Robinson, during which time they have also received the UK Chemical Industries Association Innovation of the Year Award and been runner-up for the Royal Society of Chemistry Teamwork in Innovation award.
Please find hyperlink below to the Queen's Award Website
http://www.queensawards.org.uk
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