Health care giant Johnson & Johnson will spend $1 billion upgrading its contact lens production and distribution facilities in Jacksonville, the company said June 15.
“This investment reinforces our long-standing conviction that advanced manufacturing in the United States is essential to delivering … healthcare solutions to patients at home and around the world,” CEO Joaquin Duato said in a release about the work.
With that money, Duato said, “we are enhancing the resilience of our U.S. supply chain while helping more people see better and live better.”
Jacksonville’s City Council approved a $12 million package of tax breaks April 28 to lock in plans to expand the company’s manufacturing facility at 7500 Centurion Parkway and build a new packaging and logistics facility at 815 S. Main St. in downtown’s Southbank. A summary of that agreement said the break was made in return for a $550 million aggregate capital investment.
The work is part of a $55 billion package of domestic investments nationwide that Johnson & Johnson committed to in 2025. The company hadn’t previously disclosed specifics about projects in Jacksonville, however.
The new Jacksonville facilities are expected to be fully operational by 2028, the company release said.
Mayor Donna Deegan called the spending decision “a strong vote of confidence in Jacksonville, our workforce, and our future,” saying the city “continues to lead in advanced manufacturing and life sciences innovation.”
About 3,500 people work for Johnson & Johnson’s operation in Jacksonville, which annually makes about 1.7 billion lenses under the brand name Acuvue. The out put represents about 90% of the brand’s sales in the United States.
Speaking at a gathering at the company’s Southside facilities that was shared over a webinar, U.S. Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., called the investment “huge for our local economy” and said it would contribute to the country’s long-term wellbeing.
“If America is going to remain the leader of the free world, it requires that we be strong not just militarily … that we be strong economically,” Rutherford said.
Manufacturing Institute President Carolyn Lee said during the webinar that the company is also creating a new apprenticeship program in Jacksonville that she said will contribute to reach a goal President Donald Trump had announced of adding a million apprenticeships nationwide.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Contact-lens maker Johnson & Johnson to spend $1B on Jacksonville sites
Reporting by Steve Patterson, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Steve Patterson, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union | USA TODAY Network
