[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 109 (Thursday, September 7, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1661]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             A VERMONT LESSON IN HOW TO EXPORT TO THE WORLD

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                          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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