The contract manufacturer for medical device companies has been producing rubber vial stoppers for vaccine packaging in Ireland.
US pharmaceutical services company West is establishing a new global finance centre that will create 60 jobs in Dublin.
The new shared services model will centralise the NYSE-listed company’s accounting and finance activities in Dublin and its headquarters in Exton, Pennsylvania.
West employs more than 1,000 people in Ireland across its two manufacturing facilities in Waterford and Dublin. It recently doubled its workforce in Waterford and switched to a 24-hour work schedule to meet rising customer demand for rubber vial stoppers to package Covid-19 vaccine doses for global pharma companies.
Bernard J Birkett, senior VP and CFO of West, said that the new finance model in Dublin will help the company respond to the changing needs of the market to deliver high-quality pharma components.
The company is a contract manufacturer for the medical device industry that specialises in injectable drug administration for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease and cancer. It employs almost 10,000 people across 50 sites globally and produces more than 40bn components and devices each year.
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar, TD, said that the new jobs announcement by West is an example of the growth of pharma industry in Ireland and “a further testament to our attractive business environment, robust regulatory framework and skilled labour force”.
Martin Shanahan, CEO of IDA Ireland, added that West’s decision to add a new global finance centre to its existing manufacturing activity in Dublin “illustrates the confidence West has in Ireland to deliver on its global business needs”.
West’s Dublin facility, led by site manager Tom Clarke, has been growing in recent years. The company announced its Waterford plant in 2014 to produce packaging components for insulin injector cartridges.
West was founded in 1923 and generated more than $2.15bn in sales last year.
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