Eyeglass maker is adding 1,000 jobs

Distribution center for Ray-Ban, Oakley and Dolce & Gabanna to expand McDonough facility.

The company behind RayBan, Oakley and Dolce & Gabbana eyewear plans to expand its McDonough distribution center south of Atlanta, and add 1,000 jobs by the end of this year.

Gov. Nathan Deal’s office and Luxottica Group said Tuesday the company’s expanded North American hub in Henry County will create new positions in manufacturing, distribution and facility administration.

Charlie Moseley, executive director of the Henry County Development Authority, said the deal is the largest announcement by total jobs in Henry in at least the last decade.

Fabrizio Uguzzoni, president of Luxottica Wholesale N.A., said in a news release that the expansion will allow the company to produce and transport prescription glasses “anywhere in the U.S. within 24 to 48 hours.”

“We’re proud to be a global company innovating right here in Atlanta,” he said.

The new jobs will be created as the company rolls out its new production model involving the assembly and distribution of eye wear from the Henry plant.

Jane Lehman, a spokeswoman for Luxottica, said the company is nearly finished with an expansion to the plant on Greenwood Industrial Parkway that nearly tripled the company’s square footage.

The new addition is across the street from the original plant.

She said most of the new jobs created will be full-time. Salary information was not immediately available.

Lehman said the facility employed more than 500 before the expansion.

Henry County is a logistics hub for the metro Atlanta and the Southeast. The I-75 corridor provides access to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the ports of Savannah and Brunswick and the state’s rail and freeway network.

“Georgia has had great success in attracting manufacturing and distribution operations to our state,” Deal said in the news release.

“Luxottica Group’s decision to expand in Henry County will build upon this momentum and allow the company to quickly and efficiently provide products to customers, suppliers and businesses.”