John Jerit has found a new home for his company, American Paper Optics — a new and bigger home.
The 3D glasses manufacturer has more than 40 employees working cheek by jowl at its 13,000-square-foot factory in Bartlett, so the company is moving into a 27,000-square-foot building on A.E. Beaty Drive early next year. The new building, which is several blocks from the current location, will enable American Paper to sell its old building and consolidate warehousing operations that are now in two other buildings that the company leases.
“We’ll have manufacturing, sales and storage under one roof,” Jerit said.
The use of 3D graphics in movies, publications and at events is growing at an impressive clip. The use of 3D glasses was popular in movie theaters in the 1950s and again in the 1980s. Today, they’re finding their way into even more places. “We are creating 3D shows to use the glasses,” said Linda Stucky, senior director of premier guest services for Chicago’s Adler Planetarium. “They are very popular.”
For their “sky-related” shows, the polarized, cardboard-framed glasses are handed out with the price of an admission ticket. Stucky said American Paper’s “prices were as good as anyplace else.” She shopped around with another manufacturer in California before settling on the Bartlett supplier.
The truth is, there are not a lot companies that make 3D glasses, though Jerit keeps a keen eye to what competition there is, both domestic and international, and maintains his operation at optimum efficiency to keep prices low.
Jerit traces today’s 3D movie mania to Christmas 2004, when the 3D version of “The Polar Express” was released. American Paper supplied glasses to the hundreds of theaters that showed the movie, and the DVD version of the movie was packaged with American Paper glasses. Most glasses are printed with the movie, publication or supplying company name or logo.
“Coup de grace” is what Jerit calls American Paper’s recent contract to provide the clear, polarized film for 3D viewers packed into McDonald’s Happy Meal toys based on “The Spiderwick Chronicles” movie. There were 120 million of those.
The 3D phenomenon hit the publishing world, too; American Paper Optics supplied the glasses that went in this year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, which popularly featured some models in 3D.
“We were noticing 3D was becoming real interesting for print media,” said Rick Irons, publisher of Dana Point, Calif.-based Surfer Magazine. The magazine featured eye-popping 3D surfing photos in its September issue — glasses, again, supplied by American Paper Optics. “The surf experience is very visual,” Irons said. “Readers get a feel for what it’s like to surf.”
He said there was a “positive response,” and that the magazine will likely continue with occasional 3D issues in the future.
For more information about John Jerit and American Paper Optics, please contact:
Jason Lewin – Marketing Director
American Paper Optics, LLC
2995 Appling Road, Suite 106
Bartlett, TN 38133
Phone: 1-800-767-8427
Fax: 901-381-1517
email: Jason@3dglassesonline.com
