Jabil will manufacture wearable tech for Carnival cruise line passengers

St. Petersburg-based tech giant Jabil Inc. has entered a partnership with Carnival Corporation Plc to manufacture wearable tech for its cruise line passengers. 

Jabil (NYSE: JBL) will manufacture the wearable device called Princess Medallion at its facility in the Dominican Republic. The new manufacturing line for the wearable device was unveiled Dec. 20 at Jabil’s Bajos de Haina facility.

The Princess Medalion, launched in 2017 for Carnival’s Princess fleet, enables guests to have touch-free experiences in real-time such as boarding the ship, having keyless entries to the cabin door, and finding friends and family members who are on the ship. 

“The partnership of two Florida-based companies coming together in the Dominican Republic, where we both operate, will help Princess Cruises overcome many of the logistics gridlocks challenging the market today,” Mike Mahaz, vice president of global business units at Jabil, said in a news release. “Our advanced manufacturing capabilities in one of our newest sites will meet the needs of this world-class wearable that improves the travel experience for Princess guests.” 

The work at Jabil’s facility will increase the direct-to-port fulfillment of the Princess Medallion to the fleet. The facility has over 60,000 square feet of manufacturing space and over 600 employees, with additional positions becoming available over the next three years, according to the announcement. 

“The proximity of Jabil’s state-of-the-art facilities and factory automation along with their exceptional track record across consumer, medical and military device manufacturing gives us a tremendous opportunity to support the increased demand for our experiential IoT wearables and also support good-paying jobs in the Dominican Republic in the highly-desirable sector,” John Padgett, chief experience and innovation officer for Carnival Corporation, said in a statement.