Gov. Nathan Deal announced that Ethicon, Inc. is planning to expand operations in Athens-Clarke County, adding to the company’s existing Georgia presence in Athens and Cornelia.
This expansion would add a 100,000-square-foot facility in Athens to complement its Cornelia facility in the production of suture raw materials. Through the project, Ethicon would also make capital improvements to the Cornelia site. The company is expected to create 75 positions and invest approximately $185 million through 2016.
The new facility will be constructed on the current site of Ethicon’s sister company, Noramco, Inc. Noramco, which has operated the Athens facility since 1981, manufactures pharmaceutical ingredients used in medications and medical devices. Both companies are subsidiaries of Johnson & Johnson.
“Ethicon has been an important business partner and a growing member of Georgia’s health care products manufacturing community for more than 30 years, so this expansion speaks well of our state’s supportive business environment,” Deal said. “We look forward to the positive impact this expansion will have for the Athens-Clarke County community, and for Georgia’s thriving health care industry.”
As part of the planned investment, Ethicon will also make capital improvements to the Cornelia facility, which has operated since 1947. Ethicon’s Cornelia facility currently produces the majority of the world’s supply of surgical sutures.
“We are pleased to be making this investment to enhance our suture manufacturing capabilities,” said Gary Pruden, Worldwide Chairman, Global Surgery Group, Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices & Diagnostics. “It will enable us to support better solutions for surgeons and positive outcomes for patients around the world, and it also will help us to support local communities in Georgia where our people live and work.”
The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies employs 1,000 Georgians, and has had companies with operations in the state for more than 65 years. Ethicon will break ground on its Athens site during a ceremony on Sept. 20, including participation by Gary Pruden of Johnson & Johnson, Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, Athens Mayor Nancy Denson and other corporate and community representatives.
“We were fortunate to meet with and assist Ethicon with their expansion in Athens, and we know them to be a great corporate citizen,” said Peggy Chapman, president and CEO of the Athens-Clarke County Economic Development Foundation, Inc. “Their plans for tremendous capital investment and creation of new jobs is expected to have a major impact on our community as well as the entire region.”
The Georgia Department of Economic Development partnered with the Athens-Clarke County Development Foundation to facilitate this expansion project for Ethicon. GDEcD regional project manager Susie Haggard assisted the company on behalf of the state.
“Georgia’s existing industry base is a very significant part of our economic development growth strategy,” said GDEcD Commissioner Chris Cummiskey. “When companies like Ethicon choose to stay and grow in Georgia, it helps us market Georgia to the world in the best way possible, and provides us with tangible results that we can in turn use as real examples of how companies can be globally competitive right here in Georgia.”
Ethicon, Inc. is a trusted, worldwide leader in surgical care. For over a century, Ethicon has continuously introduced innovations in wound closure, general surgery, wound management, women's health and urology and aesthetic medicine. For more information, visit www.ethicon.com.