CooperVision invests $150M in Juana Díaz plant expansion
CooperVision, a company dedicated to making contact lenses, announced a $150 million investment to expand its Juana Díaz manufacturing plant and create 225 new jobs, company and government officials said.
The project also entails the certification of 285 current employees in new highly automated technology, Department of Economic Development and Commerce Secretary Manuel Laboy and Ricardo Torres-Colón, executive vice president of global manufacturing for CooperVision said.
“CooperVision is the largest industrial employer in the municipality of Juana Díaz. This significant investment for the development of a project to build an additional wing that will connect to the existing building to free up manufacturing space and increase warehouse space, is excellent news for 1,721 professionals who already work in this world-renowned company, as well as for those who will be hired in the next three years,” Laboy said.
“This company demonstrates that Puerto Rico has the necessary resources for the establishment and expansion of specialized industries such as in the biosciences sector, which contribute 34% of the island’s Gross Domestic Product,” said Laboy.
Opened in 1999, the 540,000-square-foot site in Juana Díaz, produces CooperVision’s silicone hydrogel contact lenses including, “MyDay” and “Biofinity” brands. Earlier this month, the facility earned a LEEDSilver certification for its environmentally-conscious design and operation the company announced.
CooperVision’s Juana Díaz manufacturing site excelled in LEED evaluation categories including energy performance, indoor environmental quality, and location and transportation to earn the honor.
CooperVision Plant Manager Javier Pellicier-Rodríguez, stated “as a company based in several countries, we have always bet and trusted in what we do from here and that we can offer more to export.”
“This is a sample of our commitment, that, as we have grown to where we are today, and even with the challenges that we face locally and globally, we’re aspiring and betting on more, for everybody’s benefit, not only in Juana Díaz; but along the southern region,” he said.
“We want to support the economy, continue to grow by providing an excellent service, and to do this, we’re investing in improvements and expansions for everyone’s benefit on the island,” said Pellicier-Rodríguez.
Puerto Rico’s biosciences sector generates 45% of industrial jobs, approximately 148,648 direct, indirect and induced jobs, Laboy said.
