NAGOYA, Japan, September 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Menicon Co., Ltd. (Menicon) announced the appointment of Chew Hwee Yong as Chief of Special Projects at the company's head office in Nagoya, Japan. Chew, to be based in Nagoya, will be responsible for updating and expanding Menicon's internal processes as well as external relations to support the company's globalization.

Chew started his career with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). During his nine-year tenure with the EDB, Chew was responsible for overseeing significant projects in different high-tech industries (precision engineering, electronics and information/communications media clusters). Chew also spent three years in Osaka, Japan, as the EDB's Centre Director covering western Japan and attracted investments from diverse fields including electronics, biomedical sciences, precision engineering, chemicals, food and water treatment.

While stationed in Japan from 2006 to 2009, Chew also served as a Consul at the Consulate-General Office of the Republic of Singapore, Osaka. During his term, he was the representative for Singaporeans in western Japan and fostered strong relationships with the western Japan industrial community.

Chew has a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Precision Engineering from the University of Tokyo and a Master of Engineering degree in Optics Optoelectronics, Electrical Engineering, from Princeton University. He is proficient in English, Chinese and Japanese.

I am very excited about joining the Menicon team, said Chew. Menicon has made several key acquisitions in recent years and is developing new products leveraging on our strength as a technology company. Coming in at a very exciting and crucial point in Menicon's corporate history, I want to do my best to contribute to building Menicon into a global enterprise.

We are very pleased to welcome Mr. Chew to Menicon as he will be able to bring considerable skill and knowledge necessary to building Menicon's global operations infrastructure, said Toshio Matsushima, Head of Global Strategy at Menicon.

About Menicon:

Menicon Co. (http://www.menicon.com), founded by Kyoichi Tanaka in 1951, is Japan's first and largest contact lens manufacturer, and now is represented in over 30 countries. Menicon is a manufacturer dedicated to all areas of soft and GP contact lens-related businesses including material development, lens designing, and manufacturing of contact lenses and care solutions. Menicon is a world leader in the development of hyper-Dk GP (Menicon Z) and soft contact lenses (Menicon PremiO).

Contact: Toshio Matsushima Global Strategies Operations Menicon Co., Ltd. Phone: +81-52-937-5021 Fax: +81-52-935-1121 E-mail: matsushima@menicon-net.co.jp URL: http://www.menicon.com

SOURCE: Menicon Co., Ltd.

CONTACT: Toshio Matsushima, Global Strategies Operations for MeniconCo., Ltd., +81-52-937-5021, Fax: +81-52-935-1121,matsushima@menicon-net.co.jp