BRUNSWICK — A Swedish medical technology firm broke ground Tuesday on a 78,000-square-foot expansion at Brunswick Landing.

Mölnlycke Health Care will spend $135 million on an expansion expected to be completed by late 2026 or early 2027. The company manufactures dressings for wounds at its Brunswick facility, located at the former naval air station.

“Since the last [Navy] squadron left here in 2009 to now, 130 businesses have created more than 1,800 jobs at this former base, now known as Brunswick Landing,” Gov. Janet Mills said during the ground-breaking event. “Today, we celebrate one of those businesses landing here, which has turned the Landing into a thriving production site for medical products that are used in more than 100 countries around the world.”

The Swedish company bought the Brunswick facility in 2011, where it now employs 130 people. Mölnlycke also has a production site in Wiscasset.

The expansion is expected to bring 30 new jobs to Brunswick.

Mills said Dirigo Business Incentives, a state tax credit program for for-profit businesses, helped make Mölnlycke’s expansion possible.

The expansion “is a vote of confidence in Maine,” added Sen. Angus King, who also spoke at the event.

Mölnlycke CEO Zlatko Rihter said the expansion will help the company produce its products where they are sold and ensure faster delivery to U.S. customers.

“The U.S. is by far the largest [medical technology] market in the world, and in our case, more than 30% of our sales is in the U.S.,” Rihter said.

Mölnlycke is working with Maine-based companies Landry French and SMRT for the construction, architecture and engineering of the expansion.