Dive Brief:

• Medical device maker Nipro Medical Corp. is building a $397.8 million facility in Greenville, North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper stated in a July 17 press release.
• The 550,000-square-foot plant will create 232 jobs and produce dialyzers and precision needles for the healthcare industry that support people with diabetes, chronic kidney disease and other renal health issues, according to Nipro.
• Construction is expected to begin later this year with hiring slated to begin in 2026 and production in 2027, according to the company.

Dive Insight:

The new facility will be Japan-based Nipro’s first North America plant and mark its entry into the U.S. market, according to the state release. 

The Greenville facility will help stabilize Nipro’s U.S. supply chain, as well as reduce global transportation needs and cut carbon emissions, the company stated in its release,  Tsuyoshi Yamazaki, senior managing director of global business at Nipro, said in a statement. 

“Our close proximity to customers will allow us to better respond to their needs and provide them with timely and effective solutions,” Yamazaki said. “Our new facility in Greenville is a major milestone in our sustainability journey, reflecting our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint.”

The new site will also have a medical training center for healthcare providers, a customer service center and the potential to expand in the future, according to the state press release.

Currently, more than 557,000 Americans are on dialysis, according to the nonprofit American Kidney Fund. More than 10% of the U.S. population has diabetes, and 3.6 million adults over the age of 20 begin injecting insulin within a year of their diagnosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

While the Greenville plant’s goal is to service the North America market, the company said they could potentially export to other regions such as Latin America.

Nipro already has a presence in the U.S., with a regional headquarters in Miami. The company also has two subsidiaries on the continent — Nipro Solutions in Pennsylvania and Nipro PharmaPackaging Americas, with sites in Indiana, West Virginia and New Jersey, providing pharmaceutical glass tubing for primary packaging.

Nipro is one of several Japan-based companies to recently invest in North Carolina. The country accounts for nearly half of the state’s foreign direct investment over the past decade, according to the governor’s release. Last week, Hi-Chew candy maker Morinaga America Foods announced plans to spend $136 million to build its second candy factory at its existing Mebane site, with production expected to begin in 2027.