Investment by US firms to create 270 jobs in Waterford

MINISTER FOR Trade and Employment Micheál Martin has announced the creation of 270 new jobs at two US companies in Co Waterford.

Leading global biotech company Genzyme is to invest €130 million at its Irish facility in Waterford city, which will significantly increase the manufacturing capacity at the plant over the next three years.

Lancaster Laboratories is also expanding its operation at the Microchem Labs facility in Dungarvan, which the US firm acquired last year. The investment will create 100 new high-level positions over the next five years, with the support of IDA Ireland.

Meanwhile, the IDA-supported investment at Genzyme will result in the creation of 170 high-skilled positions in manufacturing, quality and engineering, increasing the local workforce to more than 600.

The company is to immediately begin recruiting for the first of the new positions.

The Massachusetts-based Genzyme Corporation established its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Waterford in 2001.

The new investment will allow for the expansion of its sterile fill/finish manufacturing operation, introduce soft gel capsule manufacture and will significantly expand the laboratory and office accommodation in support of the employment growth.

The company's products and services are focused on rare inherited disorders, kidney disease, orthopaedics, cancer, transplants and diagnostic testing.

Announcing the new jobs yesterday, Mr Martin said this was excellent news for Waterford and the southeast.

"The life sciences sector is a crucial component of Ireland's economic landscape. Half of the announcements and investments by overseas companies so far this year have been in this sector and in regional locations throughout the country. We continue to compete for investment at the highest end of the value chain."

Dominic Carolan, vice president and general manager of Genzyme Ireland, said the Waterford location was of strategic importance within Genzyme and that was borne out by the decision to approve this major investment programme that would allow the facility to meet current and projected demand.

Mr Martin said the new jobs at Lancaster Labs in Dungarvan consolidated the long-established company in the town in the foreseeable future and created new quality employment opportunities.

Lancaster Labs is a leading provider of a comprehensive array of scientific and validation services required by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Following the acquisition of Microchem in Dungarvan, which will also be known as Lancaster Laboratories Europe, it has greatly enhanced its ability to support the requirements of companies in Europe and Asia.

The services currently offered by Microchem will complement the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, medical device and environmental testing services at Lancaster Laboratories.

Mr Martin said the investment would increase Ireland's attractiveness for future international investments.