JACKSONVILLE, Fla.— Vistakon Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. is making a capital investment of $218 million in its facilities here over three years to expand production and refurbish existing lines for its Acuvue brand contact lenses, according to an announcement made Sept. 11, 2013, by Florida Governor Rick Scott. The expansion will add 100 jobs to the 1,800 the company currently employs here, according to the statement

“We are very excited about the potential to expand in Jacksonville, which is where we started this business 26 years ago,” plant manager Tim Ryan said, according to the Governor’s announcement. “We’re looking forward to continued growth and success, and we appreciate the Governor visiting our plant twice to highlight the sales tax cut on manufacturing equipment.” Governor Scott visited Vistakon to celebrate legislation eliminating sales tax on manufacturing equipment and machinery that will save the company nearly $14 million during this expansion.

The office of Florida Governor Scott credits partnerships between Enterprise Florida, the City of Jacksonville, JAXUSA, Workforce Florida, Inc., Department of Revenue and Department of Economic Opportunity for the project and states that the State of Florida has awarded Capital Investment Tax Credit incentives to Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. for this expansion.

“Expanding and refurbishing production lines, this expansion is in addition to the 100,000-square-foot distribution center currently under construction, all of which is scheduled for completion November 2014,” according to a Vistakon spokesperson.