U.S. Manufacturer to Join SPIE Society Members during Annual Congressional Visits Day

April 24, 2012 (Washington, DC) – SCHOTT North America, Inc. will meet with Congressional leaders today to discuss the importance of the optics industry to the United States, and how Congress can support the industry's critical, high technology manufacturing, its growth and spur job creation.

These visits are part of the involvement of SCHOTT, for the second year in a row, with the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) during the association's annual "Congressional Visits Day" activities. Approximately 250 individuals – representing the interests of more than 2 million U.S. scientists and engineers – will meet with Capitol Hill leaders to raise awareness of and support for science, engineering and technology at the federal level.

"We look forward to showcasing our latest advancements in materials science and manufacturing technology that provide state of the art, but affordable glass and glass ceramic solutions for the most challenging defense applications. SCHOTT's defense solutions are increasing the capabilities and protecting the lives of U.S. servicemen and women around the world," said Jim Stein, Vice President of Government Relations at SCHOTT. "In this ever changing fiscal environment, making the right investments in technologies that provide the best long-term value for our men and women in uniform is critical as our nation prepares for the military of the future."

With nine factories throughout the United States, in Pennsylvania (Boothwyn, Duryea, Lebanon), Massachusetts (Southbridge), New Mexico (Albuquerque), Kentucky (Louisville and Madisonville), Indiana (Vincennes), and Tennessee (Sweetwater) SCHOTT produces high-quality, technical glass specialty materials, components and systems that are critical to thousands of applications for a wide-range of industries including defense, biotechnology, solar and electronics. SCHOTT's advanced glass, glass-ceramic materials and optics technologies are used in night vision goggles, lasers, advanced imaging fiber optics and transparent armor window systems – allowing US Armed Forces to perform their jobs more safely and give them the winning edge on the battlefield.