Creston company in focus for 30 years

It’s common for someone to be teased as “four eyes” when they start wearing glasses.

Mike Tamerius doesn’t see it as a laugh. He probably sees another customer.

The Creston native’s company, Precision Optical Group, celebrates 30 years in business this year.

“We didn’t have any grand visions,” Tamerius said from his office at 701 S. Oak St. “Luckily, we were competitive and competitive with each other and had a drive to succeed and not be a failure. It’s a blessing to open a business in your hometown. You don’t want to fail.”

Tamerius was referring to when he and Matt Somers agreed to start the business together in 1992. Both came from different experiences.

During his high school days, Tamerius was working with optician Bill Sorden which began his interest in lenses. After high school, Tamerius went to a trade school in Omaha, Nebraska, that taught the science of “anything to do with eyewear,” he said. Tamerius found work making glasses in a private clinic for two years. But he reached a point.

“I was bored working in one corner in one office,” he said.

While fishing with Matt Somers, the idea of starting the lens business was discussed.

“He completed his student teaching and he was telling me he hated the idea of being a teacher after going through school,” Tamerius said. “I had a day job selling for Office Machines.”

That summer of 1992, Somers was on the phone and Tamerius spent evenings teaching him how to make glasses.

“Thirty years later, here I am,” he said.

Tamerius said he had seen enough of other lens companies by then to be motivated to have a different business strategy.

“We started exploiting the things like free calendars and free steak dinners and other things suppliers were giving. We couldn’t do that. But we will not take your money and buy you a calendar. We wanted to be straight forward. There are price discounts and oddball things. We will give you a no-frills approach, like values from large quantity purchases and pass that savings on. We still do that today,” he said.

Precision Optical grew. Tamerius said the first location was about a 100 square feet. Six months later, another part of the same building was rented. Six months after that, another building was acquired. The firm also has locations in Chicago and San Angelo, Texas.

“The Chicago already was an excellent reputation in the business. It had a very good labor force. When the opportunity came to buy, that is what we jumped on. We didn’t have the capacity here to do what we do there.” Chicago has been part of the company since 2014.

A similar story is what got them in Texas in 2018.

“It took some of the burden off here,” he said.

“Thirty years of a thriving business is incredible. We are so thankful to have Precision Optical in Union County, in terms of providing talent opportunities at multiple levels as well as continued community support for so many events and our schools. We look forward to supporting and celebrating their continued success,” said Union County Development Association Interim Director Mindy Stalker.

Tamerius said the organization has a total of 140 employees.

As with virtually everything else, technology has also changed creating lenses. Tamerius remembers the day when no-line bifocals were molded.

“Every manufacturer has their own brand, material and treatment,” he said.

Today’s work is more “freeform” as he put it.

“It’s a custom lens based on the individual prescription and person wearing. Every glass we make today is unique to the person from how they even fit on their face.”

Tamerius said the industry has also had consolidation. Somers left in 2014 making Tamerius sole proprietor.

“We’ve had every year and offer to buy,” he said. Those moments remind Tamerius of when he and Somers started offering a motorcycle as collateral to Creston banker Dave Driskell just to get the business started.

“He said we need a partnership agreement and a buy-sell agreement. That was the best advice,” Tamerius said. “When the time came for one of us to do something else, we had a plan. That’s how I ended up being sole owner. In 2014, I wasn’t ready to quit.”

Tamerius said after one offer, he turned to another person in the same business who was in his 80s and still working.

“You still happy going to work,” he told me. “I told him yes. ‘When that answer is no, it’s time (to do something else),’” he said.

Tamerius’ son and nephew are part of the business now.

“My hope is we can continue to figure out so there is something left for those to continue on,” he said.