Custom Aspheric Lenses
The LaCroix & Warden Family pictured with Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Groundbreaking of LaCroix’s new facility expansion, which will add 18,750 square feet to the company’s manufacturing space.
Building a workforce for the future
Like many advanced manufacturers, LaCroix faces the challenge of maintaining institutional knowledge as longtime employees retire. One solution: send employees to Monroe Community College (MCC) in Rochester, New York, to participate in an optics apprenticeship program first launched in collaboration with optical components manufacturer Optimax Systems, Inc. of Ontario, New York. As an interstate partner, LaCroix helped the MCC apprenticeship qualify to be nationally registered and recognized by the state of Arkansas. “We were facing a large loss of institutional knowledge,” said Warden. “We needed a way to develop future leaders who understood every aspect of our business. That’s what led us to MCC.” Since 2021, two LaCroix employees per year have enrolled, maintaining full-time roles while completing coursework and traveling to Rochester for lab training. “It’s a major time commitment,” Warden says, “but it’s also one of the best ways to challenge our people and help them grow. Today’s workforce wants to keep learning. We spend a lot of time thinking about what keeps them engaged.” LaCroix also emphasizes cross-training as a way to keep things fresh and improve manufacturing flexibility. If a certain department is very busy, cross-trained technicians can move over from less busy departments to help. Employees rotate through grinding, polishing, cleaning, and metrology to become more versatile and solution-oriented. That workforce strategy complements the company’s vertically integrated model, which expanded in 2024 to include full optical assembly.
A generational legacy
LaCroix’s story is as much about family and opportunity as it is about optics. Ray Sr. welcomed his son, Ray Jr., to the company and it grew. After hiring brothers Gerald and Danny Dale of Arkansas, the LaCroixs set up a branch plant in Batesville because the Dales wanted to move home and the LaCroixs didn’t want to lose their expertise. After 10 years of operating plants in Kirkland, Illinois, and Batesville, the LaCroixs moved the entire operation to Batesville to benefit from the labor force there. Today, the company culture remains rooted in people-first values. “We used to say the average employee had 15 to 20 years of experience,” Warden noted. “That’s changing as seasoned staff retire, and we focus on training the new generation. Still, our mission remains: invest in people, challenge them to grow, and build optics that support vital missions—from protecting troops to diagnosing disease.”
Justin Tracy, Advanced Processing Supervisor, manufactures asphere lenses with QED QFlex 100.
Why LaCroix joined DPOC
As LaCroix expands its footprint, it’s also deepening its engagement with the broader defense optics ecosystem. The company joined the Defense Precision Optics Consortium (DPOC) as a way to collaborate with industry leaders, contribute to advancing U.S. defense optical technologies, and stay at the forefront of innovation. Through DPOC, LaCroix hopes to strengthen partnerships and align with evolving national security requirements while reinforcing the industrial base for U.S. precision optics.
Assembly department building opto-mechanical assemblies.
Looking ahead
From humble beginnings working out of a Chicago garage, LaCroix today is leading the way to the future of precision optics. With construction now underway, LaCroix expects operations in the expanded facility to begin in December 2025. The new space, advanced manufacturing equipment, and increased workforce capacity are all aimed at meeting rising customer demand and fulfilling a major military contract. “This expansion allows us to grow in the right ways,” Warden says. “By investing in our people, our capabilities, and the critical supply chains that support U.S. defense.” To that end, LaCroix has been collaborating with several partners, including AmeriCOM, on a breakthrough deterministic polishing process. See the full story in this month’s news post.
Assembly department building opto-mechanical assemblies.
Interested in joining DPOC? Let’s talk.
The AmeriCOM Defense Precision Optics Consortium (DPOC) is designed to spark new, mission-critical technologies and help the optics industry respond to the needs of the U.S. military. DPOC members have access to AmeriCOM’s COM-Lab, with state-of-the-art equipment to support projects in the precision optics field, including research and proof-of-concept testing.
Membership in DPOC is open to U.S.-based optics manufacturing companies, academic institutions, and other nonprofit organizations. For an overview of member benefits, visit our Manufacturing Technologies page. To join DPOC, submit this Application Form and a member of the AmeriCOM DPOC team will contact you about next steps. Questions? Contact Mike Pomerantz, Director of Engineering.