ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Bausch + Lomb is working on a major expansion of its North Goodman Street facility in Rochester.

The expansion will build out the company’s contact lens manufacturing capacity. As part of the expansion, there are currently 50 job openings.

Joe Hart, Bausch + Lomb’s Executive Director of Site Operations in Rochester, discussed the expansion and career opportunities Wednesday during our Greater Rochester Enterprise Why ROC conversation.

“Bausch + Lomb’s latest contact lens offering INFUSE was launched last year in August and we’re excited to announce that the customer demand for INFUSE is strong and growing rapidly,” said Hart. “The new building will house the increased capacity we need to provide our customers with the world-class optics and comfort that INFUSE offers. Installation of the new manufacturing equipment is underway and we look forward to ramping and delivering products from those lines later on this year.”

Bausch + Lomb has a global presence. Hart said the expansion in Rochester will have many benefits. “Bausch + Lomb was founded here nearly 170 years ago. What started as a small optical goods shop is now a leading global eye health company and develops innovations that meet the eye health needs of people all over the world. Some advantages of investing in Rochester include the many local universities that provide a pipeline of technical resources that support our growth and another advantage is that the manufacturing facility here in Rochester is co-located with our research and development team. That collaboration allows us to take their new product ideas and turn them into a salable product at an accelerated rate. The expansion of contact lens manufacturing in Rochester represents the next chapter in our business locally as we prepare for the future and it will broaden our ability to manufacture and distribute millions of contact lenses to locations around the globe.”

The company’s new lines require about a hundred new manufacturing associates. “Over the last several months we’ve made considerable progress towards that goal but there are still openings for about 50 full-time positions,” Hart noted. “Those positions include manufacturing associates as well as a number of technical positions including engineering, electro-mechanical, automation, and controls technicians.”

Open interviews will be held at the Bausch + Lomb facility at 1400 North Goodman Street on Saturday, July 17 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Anyone interested is encouraged to attend. Interested parties can also submit applications online at www.bauschhealth.com/careers.