Alcon opens expanded manufacturing facility


Intraocular lens manufacturer Alcon Research, Ltd. completed the expansion of its $40 million manufacturing facility in the Huntington Area Development Center Business Park. The new 70,000-square-foot facility is used to make “delivery systems,” or small devices used to place the lens into the eye during surgery. When fully operational, the facility is expected to employ 300 people.

Because Swiss-owned Novartis is acquiring Alcon, the ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by Manuel Sager, Switzerland’s ambassador to the United States. Before the ceremony, Sager visited Helvetia, a community in Randolph County settled by the Swiss in 1869. Helvetia retains its Swiss atmosphere and celebrates its heritage with an annual festival.