1961

Antonio Díaz-Sarabia and Elisa Azkarate founded Medical Óptica as an optician business in Bilbao, and delegated the management to their son, Antonio.

1967

A customer of the optician’s tells them that a chemical industry wants to introduce safety spectacles to their factory. After researching the market and trying to find the best solutions, Antonio managed to transmit the need to create safety spectacles with a thermal treatment. At this time he obtained his first customer, Dow Chemical, and identified a new business to add value to.

1968

Start of manufacture of prescription safety spectacles for the main companies of the time: General Electric, Altos Hornos de Vizcaya, Astilleros Españoles, Firestone…

1969

Due to high demand, it was decided that new machinery with a higher manufacturing capacity was required. Therefore Antonio travelled to Italy, where he discovered that a new application process for lens treatments was being developed in the north. After unexpectedly travelling to this factory, Antonio ran out of money. Sensing the situation, the taxi driver that brought him there took him for the best panini and birra of his life.

1970

The first mobile units were created that travelled Spain providing service to industries. Also the range of products was increased to the respiratory, hearing and sight lines.

1979

The safety business became so large that was separated from the optician business, creating an independent company called MEDOP and becoming the Spanish company with the highest number of certified spectacles.

1996

Thanks to its experience in street wear spectacles, Medop offers the industry high quality spectacles and improved characteristics such as different materials and coatings adapted to the needs of each production process, which implies a complete innovation in the safety sector.

2002

Start of exportation of products to Portugal, Italy, France, Turkey, etc.

2006

New expansion of the laboratory including new cutting edge technology to shorten the manufacturing times.

2012

Development and incorporation of new product families into the catalogue, such as helmets, suits, gloves, etc.

2016

Launch of the first digital management platform to make the process of requesting prescription safety spectacles easier.

2018

Market launch of the first prescription safety spectacles with the same marking as panoramic lenses and a wide range of prescriptions: the Xtreme Hybrid model.

Eterea plus - Polycarbonate Spectacles for High-Impact Resistance - Brochure