Ethicon Biosurgery Ireland, part of the Johnson & Johnson group, has announced a planned investment of €80m supported by IDA Ireland to build a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Limerick’s National Technology Park.
The planned project is expected to create 270 jobs over the next five years, plus 150 temporary construction jobs as the 60,000 sq-ft facility takes shape.
Recruitment is already under way and construction should be complete by next year.
The project was discussed on a recent IDA investment mission to the US, when Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton, TD, and Minister for Finance Michael Noonan, TD, met with senior executives from Johnson & Johnson.
“This is a model of what we are trying to achieve with our (Action Plan for Jobs) – a great global company investing €80m in a manufacturing plant in Limerick, creating large numbers of permanent jobs, as well as construction jobs, with huge knock-on benefits for the surrounding areas,” said Bruton.
Ethicon Biosurgery develops haemostasis and sealing solutions and workers at the Limerick plant will manufacture Evarrest Sealant Matrix, which helps stop bleeding during surgery.
“The decision to manufacture Evarrest Sealant Matrix in Ireland was due to the unique clustering of medical-device manufacturing, automation and biomanufacturing skill sets across the Johnson & Johnson companies already operating in Ireland,” said Dan Wildman, worldwide president of Ethicon Biosurgery.
Johnson & Johnson has partnered with the IDA on many investments since establishing its first manufacturing facility in Ireland more than 30 years ago.
“This investment by Ethicon Biosurgery is hugely significant for the mid-west region as a whole,” said Barry O’Leary, CEO of IDA Ireland, adding that the decision “is yet another strong endorsement of Ireland’s position as a leading location for the life-sciences sector.”
