An Irish engineering consultancy has won a multi-million euro contract to design and build a sterile facility for the Schering-Plough, the US pharmaceutical giant. DPS Engineering will upgrade and extend the plant at Bray, Co Wicklow, to a high international standard.
The project, which industry analysts said was worth around £7 million (€8.9 million), is the largest yet awarded by ScheringPlough to DPS.
The contract includes the detail design, procurement, construction management and validation of the new operation. DPS said last night design work had already begun, and that construction, due to begin in January, would last 12 months.
It said the extension would be designed to Irish Medicine Board and US FDA standards, and would allow for the manufacturing of additional volume.
The new factory would be designed to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standard, a world standard of excellence, the firm said. Sterility would be to grade level A.
"The plant produces Intermammary, for mastisis, and other veterinary injectibles; 90 per cent of the output is exported," DPS added. "The facility upgrading will secure the employment of the 200 people at the Bray plant."
DPS has been associated with the Bray facility since 1993, and has fulfilled a number of contracts there for Schering-Plough.
"Winning the Schering-Plough contract, in the face of serious competition from international consultancies, confirms again that DPS is now accepted as one of the big players in design engineering," said the firm's general manager, Mr Gerry Creaner.
DPS employs 240 people, with offices in Ireland, Britain and the Netherlands.
