Omron Healthcare is stepping up its India manufacturing play. The Japanese medical device maker has begun full-scale production at its first factory in the country, with plans to increase production capacity tenfold by 2028 and develop Chennai into a supply base for international markets.
The immediate focus is blood pressure monitors for the Indian market. The longer-term ambition is to expand into international markets and introduce nebulizer production for respiratory conditions such as asthma.
Located at ORIGINS by Mahindra in Tamil Nadu, the factory marks a new phase in Omron’s India strategy. It also reflects the growing intersection between India’s manufacturing ambitions and its need for more accessible preventive healthcare.
Ayumu Okada, President and CEO, OMRON Healthcare, said the company’s expansion in India was closely linked to its broader focus on preventive healthcare.
“Under the OMRON Group’s long-term vision, Shaping the Future 2030, we are working to address three key social challenges: achieving carbon neutrality, realizing a digital society, and extending healthy life expectancy. OMRON Healthcare’s role is to contribute to the third of these, helping people monitor their health as a natural part of everyday life and access appropriate medical care when needed,” she said.
“As India’s economy develops, awareness of health management and preventive healthcare is growing, while timely detection and treatment of cardiovascular disease remain major challenges. Through products and services tailored to local needs, public awareness activities, support for academic research, and contributions to India’s first home blood pressure monitoring guidelines, we have worked to address these challenges.”
“The commencement of full-scale production in Chennai is an important step toward ensuring a stable supply of medical-grade blood pressure monitors in India. By strengthening local manufacturing and deepening collaboration with healthcare professionals and partners, we will continue to contribute to the Make in India initiative and support healthier lives for people across India.”
From domestic supply to global markets
Spread across approximately 24,000 square metres, the factory has five production lines manufacturing blood pressure monitors for the Indian market. It produces three series, with five product variants.
The company aims to increase the Chennai factory’s production capacity tenfold by 2028, strengthen domestic supply, develop Chennai as a base for international markets and introduce nebulizer production.
The factory has a capitalisation of Rs1.91 billion and a workforce of approximately 120 employees. It draws on production technologies and quality-control expertise developed at Omron Healthcare’s Matsusaka factory in Japan and its sister facility in Vietnam.
The company says the monitors manufactured in India meet the same standards of measurement accuracy and quality as its medical devices supplied to international markets. The facility also supports the Make in India initiative through local component sourcing, workforce development and employment creation.
Okada said Tamil Nadu’s skilled workforce and manufacturing base made it an attractive location. Chennai’s transport and logistics infrastructure also supports the company’s ambition to supply products across India and to more than 50 countries.
The investment comes as medical device manufacturers look to strengthen local production and supply chains. For Omron, the next phase will involve scaling capacity while developing the supplier ecosystem around the factory.
A market with an unmet need
Omron’s manufacturing expansion comes against the backdrop of a substantial healthcare challenge. The company’s press release estimates that approximately 300 million people in India live with hypertension. Yet fewer than 5% of households have a home blood pressure monitor in regular use.
High blood pressure often develops without noticeable symptoms. It can, however, lead to serious conditions such as stroke, heart failure and kidney disease.
In her address at the factory opening, Okada described the condition as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stressed the importance of acting before symptoms appear. She said that the first step in managing high blood pressure is to know one’s own blood pressure.
For Omron, the challenge is to make regular home monitoring more accessible and encourage people to take a more active role in managing their health.
The company’s Indian range includes the HEM-7090 series, a standard upper-arm monitor designed for straightforward home measurement, including for first-time users. The HEM-7181 series adds a Trend Indicator and memory function. The HEM-7183T series features a Trend Indicator, an easy-to-wrap Fit Cuff and Bluetooth connectivity with the OMRON Connect app.
The Trend Indicator alerts users to increases in blood pressure readings. The range is designed to meet the needs and price expectations of Indian consumers, according to the company.
But wider adoption will require more than availability. Consumers need to monitor their blood pressure regularly and understand their readings. Healthcare professionals must also be confident that home measurements can support clinical decisions.
Building clinical confidence
Omron Healthcare has operated in India since 2010. It has worked with the Indian Society of Hypertension on the development of India’s first home blood pressure monitoring guidelines.
According to information shared by the company, 90 experts participated in the guideline initiative, drawing on data from 1,900 cases at 18 medical facilities in 12 states. Omron supplied monitors and supported the clinical research.
The company has also conducted lectures on home monitoring for medical students, with 2,600 students attending. It participates in India’s family adoption programme, through which students visit families and explain the importance of home blood pressure checks.
Okada said the company’s monitors are approved as medical devices in 97 countries, including India.
The company’s wider strategy links device manufacturing with digital health services. It aims to strengthen connections between patients and healthcare professionals, using health data to support regular monitoring and earlier identification of risks.
Tamil Nadu’s manufacturing proposition
Deepak Jacob, Managing Director and CEO of Guidance Tamil Nadu, one of the dignitaries present at the facility’s inaugration ceremony, spoke on behalf of the Government of Tamil Nadu. He said Omron signed a Memorandum of Understanding to set up the factory in the presence of the state’s Chief Minister in June 2023.
“Today, that memorandum stands before us as a working plan. A promise made in an MOU, delivered on the ground, that is the kind of partnership every investment agency hopes for,” he said.
Jacob added, “This is not a factory opening, it is the beginning of a new partnership, new chapter for medtech manufacturing in Tamil Nadu.”
He highlighted the state’s precision manufacturing capabilities, local supplier base, Japanese business community, port connectivity and technical talent.
“Our workforce understands tight tolerances and zero defect discipline,” he said, describing the capabilities that Tamil Nadu could bring to high-value medical electronics.
Jacob said the plant’s proximity to Chennai and Kamarajar ports offered an efficient gateway to India, South Asia and the Middle East. He also identified three potential areas for future cooperation: industrial automation and Industry 4.0, an R&D and embedded software centre, and vendor development.
He said Omron’s commitment to employing persons with disabilities at the Chennai plant reflected its wider values. Guidance Tamil Nadu, he added, would work with the state to make the plant a model of inclusive manufacturing for India.
Muneo Takahashi, Consul General of Japan, also addressed the gathering. He described the factory as “a good example of the growing economic partnership between Japan and India.”
Takahashi said the investment contributed to the Make in India initiative and reflected Omron’s long-term presence in the Indian market. He also highlighted Tamil Nadu’s industrial base, skilled workforce and infrastructure as important factors supporting Japanese investment.
Beyond devices
Junta Tsujinaga, President and CEO of OMRON Corporation, said the company was shifting its focus towards solution services that use data to realise smart factories and digital health.
“India is no longer only a larger market. It is becoming a global hub for manufacturing and innovation,” he said.
Founded in Kyoto in 1933, Omron has around 20,000 employees worldwide. Its industrial automation business in India started in 1996, followed by its healthcare business in 2010.
Tsujinaga said Omron would focus on manufacturing innovation and digital health in India. In healthcare, he highlighted the importance of regular monitoring, identifying risks early and taking action before illness progresses.
Okada said Omron Healthcare’s vision is “Going for ZERO,” with three goals: zero onset of cardiovascular disease, zero exacerbations of respiratory disease such as asthma, and zero limitations on daily activities caused by chronic pain.
More than 80 per cent of Omron Healthcare’s sales come from outside Japan, according to the company, which considers India one of its important growth markets.
The Chennai factory is expected to support that growth. Omron says it has sold more than 400 million home-use digital blood pressure monitors worldwide as of September 2025 and provides products and services in over 130 countries.
The factory’s applicable standards include ISO 13485 and ISO 9001, according to the factsheet. ISO 14001 certification is scheduled for fiscal 2027.
For Omron, the next test is whether it can scale production, strengthen local sourcing and build a competitive export base. For India, the investment adds to efforts to develop domestic medical device manufacturing.
The immediate product is a blood pressure monitor. The larger bet is that India can become both a bigger market for home healthcare and a base for supplying it to the world.
lakshmipriya.nair@expressindia.com
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