Japan’s Omron Healthcare opens first India manufacturing facility near Chennai

Japan’s Omron Healthcare on Friday formally inaugurated its first India production facility in Gummidipoondi near Chennai. The new unit, spread over an area of 258,333 square feet at Origins by Mahindra industrial estate in Puduvoyal, has been built within three years of the Japanese firm signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu government in 2023.

Designed to produce about 300,000 blood pressure monitors annually, the company plans to increase its production capacity tenfold to make 30 lakh units annually in the next two years. Omron will manufacture three models of blood pressure monitors at the new facility. The firm is also looking at exporting blood pressure monitors manufactured at the new factory to the European market by next year. “We plan to make Chennai a base not just for the Indian market but also develop it as a base for exports,” Ayumu Okada, president and CEO, Omron Healthcare Company Limited, said.

Muneo Takahashi, Consul General of Japan in Chennai said: “Tamil Nadu has become an important destination for Japanese investment, supported by its strong industrial base, skilled human resources and excellent infrastructure.”

Deepak Jacob, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Guidance said: “In 1972, Omron‘s founder joined hands with Dr. Yutaka Nakamura — a doctor known as the father of Japan’s Paralympic movement — to open Omron Taiyo in Beppu. It was Japan’s first welfare factory run and staffed by people with disabilities. People called it “the factory with wheelchairs.” And a second such factory followed in Kyoto in 1985.” Omron‘s commitment to employing persons with disabilities in this plant (Chennai) reflects exactly that value. It will inspire industries across our State to see ability first, he added.

Approximately 300 million people nationwide are estimated to be living with hypertension, while the World Health Organization (WHO) identifies cardiovascular diseases like stroke and heart failure among the country’s leading causes of death. As India’s economy continues to grow at approximately 7% annually, lifestyle changes mean that the prevalence of hypertension is expected to rise further, adding to such challenges and increasing the need for preventive healthcare. Yet fewer than 5% of households have a home blood pressure monitor in regular use, while access to healthcare services also remains limited in many regions. By strengthening the domestic supply of blood pressure monitors, Omron Healthcare aims to support more widespread home monitoring, earlier identification of cardiovascular risks, and improved hypertension management, the company said.