A brief history of Contamac

The brainchild of trained chemist John McGregor, Contamac (ContactlensesMacGregor) is the quintessence of a simple idea, well executed.

We remain fiercely proud of our status as an independent, family-owned company, that customers can trust and end-users can rely upon, but our pedigree is the result of years of hard work, cutting-edge research and investment.

From humble beginnings the company today prides itself in having a truly global presence and employing more than 80 specialist staff. Founded in Britain in 1987, we became the first maker of contact lens (CL) materials to be ISO9002 and EN46002 accredited. In 2002 we launched into the US, establishing Contamac US Inc as a sister company. A few years later we were recognised as a key supplier to a winning product in the 2008 Medical Design Excellence Awards. Our silver anniversary year witnessed the opening of Contamac China, our announcement as a UK National Champion in the European Business Awards, and our receipt of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade (the first of two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise).

In 2016 we moved into our current state-of-the-art 35,000sq ft headquarters. Located in the market town of Saffron Walden, just 20 miles south of the famous University of Cambridge, our new base includes modern offices and presentation suites, research and testing laboratories, manufacturing and despatch facilities, a fully-functioning contact lens fitting surgery, and even our own ISO7 (Class 10,000) clean room.

Today, Contamac is more than just a manufacturer. As an educator we collaborate with the world’s leading universities, and as a research partner we work alongside some of the biggest names in the pharmaceutical and biomedical industries. Yet, thirty years on, we’re also still selling to our very first customer!

John McGregor sums it up best, “This is a company that’s about people. It’s a source of great personal pride that Contamac has been instrumental in bringing products to market that have restored sight to so many people globally – but it couldn’t have been done without the skill and commitment of everyone who works here”.

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