abbott_jobs

600 new jobs at Abbott Laboratories, Galway

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Mary Harney today (12th November 2002) announced that Abbott Laboratories, one of the world’s top ten healthcare companies, is to make further investment with the support of IDA Ireland in the development of a high-level R&D centre and the expansion of production facilities at Abbott Vascular Devices Ireland Limited in Galway.

"The investment will create substantial new high quality employment. Almost 180 new jobs will be created within three years, rising to 600 over five years. Recruitment has already commenced,” the Tánaiste said.

Abbott is one of the largest healthcare employers in Ireland, employing more than 1,800 people at seven facilities. It recently acquired the Galway facility as part of its acquisition of the cardiovascular stent business of the UK medical devices company Biocompatibles International Plc. This investment will give the Galway operation a key role in Abbott’s global strategy to become a leading player worldwide in vascular medical devices. The manufacturing operation, which currently includes approximately 160 employees, will be one of only two corporate sites dedicated to the development and manufacture of the company's range of vascular medical devices, including cardiovascular and drug-coated stents and protective systems.

The Tánaiste, welcoming the investment, said, “I am delighted to announce that Ireland has been chosen as the location for a significant worldwide healthcare investment. This strategic investment by a company that has been in Ireland for almost 60 years has major significance not just for the West of Ireland but for the whole country. It is further proof that we have retained the capacity and the competitiveness to attract major international investments, despite the global economic slowdown.”

She continued: “The investment will further enhance the reputation of the west of Ireland as a world-recognised location for the manufacture and, increasingly, the development of medical devices, adding to the cluster of world-leading companies in this sector already located in the Region."

Founded in 1888 by Dr. Wallace Calvin Abbott, a Chicago physician, Abbott Laboratories is a highly diversified health care company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets products and services that span the continuum of care — from prevention and diagnosis to treatment and cure. Headquartered in north suburban Chicago, Abbott serves customers in more than 130 countries, with a staff of 70,000 employees at more than 135 manufacturing, distribution, research and development, and other locations around the world. Abbott’s products fall into four principal business arenas: pharmaceutical, hospital, diagnostics and nutritional products.

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