A Look Inside Smith MFG
Our story starts in 1965 with a groundbreaking ski goggle design featuring a sealed thermal lens and breathable vent foam to address fogging. Guided by product innovation, the outdoor community, and a focus on US manufacturing, we have been pushing sport and optics for nearly 60 years.
MFG: Born in the USA
Born in the garage of Dr. Bob Smith, an orthodontist and OG ski bum, we have a long history and a dedication to US-based manufacturing. From our humble garage beginnings, we have maintained assembly and manufacturing facilities in the US since 1965, creating a nearly 60-year legacy of US-driven innovation and manufacturing.
As our product offering evolved and we further innovated landmark goggle and sunglasses tech including the Turbo Fan anti-fog, Roll Off lens film, swappable lenses, and ChromaPop™ lens technology, our US manufacturing base grew and moved from Colorado to Idaho, and eventually to our current home in Utah.
Located in Clearfield, Utah, which today is our manufacturing headquarters, affectionately referred to in-house as MFG (which in itself stands for manufacturing), is a huge leap forward from our humble garage roots. But the original can-do spirit and community atmosphere that has fueled our innovation and quality from the start is alive and well at MFG.
The Smith MFG Family
The core of innovation and community at Smith is our people. MFG employs 150 passionate employees who represent 19 nationalities and includes multiple generations of family members working side by side.
Following the retirement of the longest-running Smith MFG employee ever at 44 years, the current longest-running employee has been part of our MFG family for 35 years.
The work at MFG is decidedly hands-on with every process requiring the careful attention and skill of the diverse range of employees. The MFG team ranges from building staff to engineers and all of the indispensable hands that make Smith goggles and sunglasses possible.
From Custom Prescription to Goggles and Sunglasses Assembly
MFG turns out over one million products every year. It’s home to our test lab for lens safety and quality control, our 4D goggle design house, goggle strap screen printing, lens cutting and finishing, goggle and sunglasses assembly, and our state-of-the-art prescription glasses lens facility.
That’s right, we custom grind every pair of prescription glasses and sunglass lenses right here in the USA. Every prescription order starts online at smithoptics.com and finishes in our Utah facility before shipping directly to the consumer.
Most MFG work relies heavily on handwork, and the 120,000 square foot facility literally hums with activity as materials move from one station to the next in the trusted hands of the MFG team.
