 "J&J's largest India plant to be operational by 2018")
J&J was to get the plant coming up in Kothur near Hyderabad in Telangana operational this year, but procedural delays have prevented the company from completing the project on time, the official said. According to the official, the firm is working to get all approvals in place and is confident of getting the plant going in 2018.
The plant, which will produce 18,000 tonnes of baby care, personal hygiene and skincare products, will be J&J's third unit in India, after Mumbai and Baddi.
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According to the official, the Telangana region was selected because J&J wanted to service the southern market, which contributes 30% of its revenue.
J&J has earmarked an additional $100 million (Rs 650 crore) for future expansion of the plant. The move, said the official, was in line with J&J's objective of converting India into a regional hub for neighbouring markets.
The pressure to get the Telangana plant going also comes as J&J has faced the regulator's ire in Maharashtra in recent months over issues pertaining to contamination of its products at its Mumbai facility.
J&J has maintained all along that its production quality controls are strict and that it has been working with the Food & Drug Administration in the state to iron out differences. The Mumbai facility is also J&J's oldest unit in the country, set up in 1959, making it necessary to invest in a third facility.
J&J's India bet comes at a time when it has faced consumer ire in the US. In May this year, J&J was ordered by a US jury to pay $55 million (Rs 363 crore) to a woman who said that using the company's talcum powder for feminine hygiene caused ovarian cancer. This was the second straight trial loss for J&J in the US this year.