News

Nearly 1.7 billion disposable contact lenses are manufactured at the Jacksonville divisional headquarters of Johnson & Johnson Vision each year. That number is expected to grow with the news of a $200 million investment into the expansion of the existing facility which includes machinery, equipment and infrastructure. The expansion will also add 100 new jobs to the workforce.

This is the company’s third Jacksonville expansion in the last eight years. Johnson & Johnson Vision has been a part of the fabric of the Jacksonville region since 1981.

The medical device manufacturing industry is thriving in Northeast Florida which has long been known as a center of growth, opportunity and leadership for the health care sector, in part due to the presence of world-class hospitals including campuses for Mayo Clinic and MD Anderson Cancer Center and the UF Proton Therapy Institute.

As a result of hospital growth and investment, in addition to Johnson & Johnson Vision’s presence, cutting-edge biotech and medical manufacturing companies including Medtronic, McKesson, Availity, KLS Martin Group and Forcura also have corporate and divisional headquarters in the region.

Two attributes for the region’s rise of medical device manufacturing are the access to skilled talent and a low-cost tax climate. With a skilled health care workforce of more than 90,000, employment growth in Jacksonville in the health and biomedical industry continues to outpace the national average. Local health and biomedical companies cite the benefits of having top-notch curriculum for their field with the leading educational institutes in and around the Jacksonville region.

The tax environment also provides one of the most favorable for both businesses and individuals alike. Florida continues to be one of the top states in which to do business with no state income tax, no sales and use tax on goods manufactured or produced in Florida for export outside the state and no sales/use tax on co-generation of electricity.