Johnson & Johnson will expand their Jacksonville-based Vistakon contact lens production division with a capital investment of $218 millon and the addition of 100 jobs over three years.
Florida Governor Rick Scott made the announcement this morning while visiting the University of North Florida as part of his "It's Your Money" tour touting a plan to cut $500 million in state taxes. Scott visited Vistakon in May after the elimination of state sales tax on manufacturing equipment and machinery.
"Last spring, we eliminated burdensome taxes on manufacturers," Scott said in a release. "Now, Vistakon can re-invest their money into the community by creating jobs for Florida families."
Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown said he was proud to be working with Scott and local stakeholders to bring jobs to the city.
“My administration is focused on projects like Vistakon's expansion to support targeted industries, make Jacksonville more competitive and keep our momentum for economic growth,” he said.
Other organizations involved in the partnership to make the expansion possible are Enterprise Florida, JAXUSA, Workforce Florida, Inc., the Florida Department of Revenue and Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
The state has also awarded Capital Investment Tax Credit incentives to Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. for this expansion project.
