CooperVision, the California-based contact lens company that employs more than 1,000 people in the Rochester area, is expanding their local operations.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday that the company will expand its packaging and distribution facility in West Henrietta, and complete the renovation of its manufacturing operations in Scottsville.
Altogether, that $62 million investment is expected to create up to 173 new jobs.
Michele Bosa is a vice president for distribution at CooperVision, and he leads the facility in West Henrietta. He said that even if Rochester is not a major transportation hub, its local distribution facility covers a lot of ground.
“We definitely serve, of course, the domestic market,” said Bosa. “”By domestic, I mean the North American market, but we also supply and resupply our affiliates and our sister companies around the world.”
Bosa said that the Rochester area is a good place for CooperVision to do business partly because it has a lot of available technical expertise in this area.
“There is a long tradition in optical and (the) optics business in this area, and clearly contact lenses is part of it,” said Bosa. He said that this local expansion is related to its long-range projections for “a significant increase in the global demand” for contact lenses, as well as CooperVision increasing the size of its product portfolio.
Henrietta Town Supervisor Steve Schultz noted that, “CooperVision has been a major employer in Henrietta for years, so it is great to see them thriving and expanding their presence in Henrietta.”
Monroe County Executive Adam Bello said that the commitment by the company shows the county has “the workforce needed to meet the demands of today’s high-tech businesses.”
Besides the West Henrietta and Scottsville facilities CooperVision also has corporate offices in Victor, Ontario County.
Empire State Development is providing up to $3 million in tax credits for the expansion at the two locations, in exchange for the company’s job creation commitments. RG&E, Monroe County and Greater Rochester Enterprise are also supporting the project.
The work is expected to be completed in 2023.
