Optician eyes up 30 year milestone

L-R Sarah Culshaw, Rebecca Inman, Shellie Martin, Rod Fullalove, Aisha Amir and Simon Miller from Specsavers Rochdale

A director at a Rochdale opticians, who has overseen 750,000 eye tests and dispensed more than one million pairs of glasses, is celebrating 30 years of service.

Technical director, Rod Fullalove, who runs Specsavers Rochdale alongside store director Sarah Culshaw and ophthalmic director Yeow Khee, started his Specsavers career in 1989 when he was tasked with setting up laboratories in Specsavers stores in Wigan and Manchester to produce glasses to the highest possible standard.

He then took a stake in Specsavers Rochdale in 1993 to become technical director and has since opened three successful stores in Oldham, Rochdale and Royton.

During his career he has mentored hundreds of team members, some of whom have gone on to become fully qualified opticians and store partners with Specsavers themselves.

Commenting on his anniversary Rod Fullalove says, ‘Celebrating this milestone has made me reflect on how far we have come as a business. The technological advancements have been remarkable – to think we started out without computers and used ‘old fashioned’ sight charts, is now so hard to believe.

‘Today we are so fortunate to have the latest high tech equipment, including an OCT machine which provides a detailed structural scan of the back of the eye enabling diseases to be detected three to four years earlier than other methods – it’s just remarkable. Coupled with the latest controlled manufacture of ophthalmic lenses, means we can now offer our customers more bespoke products.

‘I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the past 30 years and am so proud of the impact our store has had on the town’s eye health since it launched in the 1990s, which couldn’t have been achieved without the dedication of the tremendous team here.

‘I’m excited to see what impact future cutting-edge optical technology can have on the local community’s eye health.’

Specsavers store director, Sarah Culshaw adds, ‘We’re delighted to be able to celebrate Rod, honour such a significant milestone and say a huge thank you for all he does for our customers, our people and our business. It’s a privilege to have him as an integral part of the team’

To commemorate his achievement, Rod was presented with £300 worth of golf pro shop and golf lesson vouchers to recognise his many years of dedicated work.