Menicon Malaysia opened its contact-lens plant at Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Kedah, on 5 February 2026, Bernama reported. The local company is wholly owned by Japan’s Menicon. The new site manufactures daily disposable silicone-hydrogel lenses, with commercial production and further installation of production lines described as separate stages.
What has started and what remains planned
In its 5 February production announcement, Menicon confirms that commercial manufacturing has begun. It also says phase-one construction remains under way, with capacity planned for up to 500 million lenses per year. Its four-phase plan envisages eventual annual capacity of up to two billion lenses. These are capacity targets; the announcement does not say that the new plant already produces either annual volume.
- Commercial production began before the full multi-phase development was complete.
- The first-phase capacity target is 500 million individual lenses a year.
- The long-term two-billion-lens figure depends on further line installation and expansion.
Automation, workforce and exports
The Malaysian smart-factory launch statement gives approved investment of RM1 billion. Bernama describes investment of more than RM1 billion; the different descriptions are not used here to calculate an overrun. The company describes connected automation for production, logistics, warehousing and quality control.
Company contact
The launch release supplies Menicon’s Public Relations Department email, presscontact@menicon.co.jp. It is a media contact for the parent company, rather than a clinic or a retail contact-lens service.
