About NoIR InSight

NoIR has been evolving and growing for 50 years by staying focused on our customers, domestically and internationally, producing and delivering high quality eyewear.

The company was founded by entrepreneur A. Brooks Gleichert in 1972 under the name of Recreational Innovations, selling sunglasses with Ultraviolet (UV) and Infrared (IR) protection.  UV blocking sunglasses were common, but IR protection was new, and offered relief from eye strain and fatigue by reducing the heat energy of the sun. These “No InfraRed” or NoIR glasses found a niche medical market with the visually impaired, and over the next 20 years, rather than compete in the high-end fashion sunglass realm, NoIRs provided relief and increased mobility for those with low vision conditions, for post-operative cataract patients and for PUVA psoriasis treatment patients.

The company name changed in 1973 to NoIR Medical Technologies to more accurately reflect its medical focus. At about the same time Brooks bought an old 34-acre farm in South Lyon, MI, converting the farmhouse and barns into sales offices. His insistence that the company be a quality-of-life business made for a unique, relaxing sales, packaging, and shipping environment, with a casual dress code, a couple of horses and many dogs on the farm. Despite (or due to) the seemingly pastoral environment, the company grew, and the special lenses found additional technical applications in leak detection and forensics.  

In 1992, Brooks founded NoIR Manufacturing and brought manufacturing in house in a nearby industrial park: injection molding, anti-scratch coating, lens cutting and assembly, sewing of glasses cases and even private labeling for customers. By 1996, the high-tech eye protection line found a new market: laser safety eyewear.  NoIR Laser Company was formed in 1996 as a partnership between Brooks, his wife and his three adult children, who all left successful careers to join the ‘family business’.   In the next 25 years, NoIR leveraged its technical strength of molding laser absorbing dyes into polycarbonate, and the primarily women-owned company became a laser safety leader in the surgical, dermatology, research and development, military, industrial, forensic, law enforcement and other fields.  

The second generation helped to grow the companies by a factor of 10x from 1996 to 2021.  By 2018, the manufacturing and sales divisions had outgrown the industrial park and the old farm, respectively, and the three companies merged into one 30,000 sq/ft building in Milford, MI.  NoIR InSight (the new umbrella company) now employs over 60 people and manufactures more than 10,000 units of eyewear per month.  Brooks passed away in 2018, but his philosophy lives on. NoIR is proud of its growing diversity, continues to be family oriented and being a team that works well together, and keeps the business expanding through hard work.

NoIR delivers aggressively-priced industry-standard products in an array of comfortable, versatile frame styles, yet as a privately-held company with complete control of the manufacturing process, NoIR is able to engineer custom solutions for new applications or energy sources. Simply contact one of our trained representatives to begin the process.

NoIR is committed to excellence in product quality and customer service. We are located at 4975 Technical Drive, Milford, Michigan, 48381.

 

NOIR MISSION STATEMENT

To empower people around the world to do more and see more through eyewear that protects and enhances vision, increases mobility, brings comfort, and enables them to achieve great things. 

 

NOIR VISION STATEMENT

We have a commitment to do more:

  • For customers, we listen, we develop tailored solutions, and we back our work with high quality and outstanding service.
  • For employees, our family-like culture encourages work life balance, personal growth, and rewards performance.
  • For our community, we support activities and organizations worldwide, and volunteer & donate to worthy causes.
  • For our environment, we are committed to sustainability through responsible business growth, ethical business practices, and by minimizing our impact on the environment.