The company’s planned ‘state-of-the-art’ facility is expected to triple its European wafer production and grow its Irish workforce to roughly 2,100.
US semiconductor giant Analog Devices is giving Limerick a major jobs boost through the creation of a new R&D and manufacturing facility.
The company is investing €630m to construct the 45,000 sq ft facility at its European regional headquarters in Limerick’s Raheen Business Park.
Analog Devices expects this “state-of-the-art” facility to create 600 new jobs, which will bring the company’s total Irish workforce to roughly 2,100.
The semiconductor company currently has more than 200 Irish jobs posted on its Careers page, with a majority of them based in Limerick. These roles include maintenance technicians, digital design engineers, research engineers, senior engineers and project managers.
Analog Devices CEO and chair Vincent Roche said Ireland has been a “critical innovation centre” for the company since the 1970s, when it first established operations here.
“This next-generation semiconductor manufacturing facility and expanded R&D team will further extend ADI Limerick’s global influence,” Roche said.
Analog Devices expects the new facility to triple its European wafer production capacity. This ties in with the company’s goal of doubling its internal manufacturing capacity to support its global supply chain and better serve customer needs.
“Through organic R&D and close collaboration with our customers and ecosystem partners, we are striving to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges and enable a more efficient, safer and sustainable future,” Roche said.
The investment is planned as part of a collaboration within the European Union’s Important Projects of Common European Interest on Microelectronics and Communication Technologies (IPCEI ME/CT) initiative, and will support cross-border collaborative research. Analog Devices’ IPCEI application is subject to final approval from the European Commission, and is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.
The announcement comes a year after Analog Devices invested €100m in Catalyst, the company’s custom-designed facility for innovation and collaboration at its Limerick base. In 2010, Analog Devices invested €23m in its Limerick campus’ manufacturing division.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, TD, said the latest investment is a significant announcement for the Mid-West region and “marks a new chapter” in the relationship between Analog Devices and Ireland.
“This massive €630m investment is great news for local employment with lots of jobs being created during the construction phase, and 600 high-end graduate jobs,” Varadkar said. “This investment will also mean lots of spin-off jobs and contracts for local SMEs and Irish-owned businesses.”
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