The Mayor of the City and County of Limerick has welcomed the announcement that Edwards Lifesciences Corporation are to create around 600 new jobs.
- Further strengthens Life Sciences cluster in Mid West
Mayor Stephen Keary said: “Edwards Lifesciences is a global leader in innovation in the area of structural heart disease and critical care monitoring and I’m delighted they have chosen the Limerick city mid west region for their new plant.”
“The decision to locate here is a vote of confidence in the region as a destination for high-end medical technology manufacturers and joins the likes of Regeneron, Becton Dickinson, Cook Medical in locating in the region.”
Edwards Lifesciences is to develop new plant to manufacture delivery components for itstranscatheter heart valve therapies. This facility will complement a similar one in the United States and will initially be configured to support the manufacturing of therapies that enable minimally invasive procedures on patients’ aortic, mitral and tricuspid valves, where open heart surgery would previously have been the norm.
The investment is being supported by IDA Ireland. Edwards is planning to hire approximately 60 people this year in various functions, such as production staff, engineering and professional management, to work at its initial site located in the Shannon Free Zone.
The company plans to complete a new, purpose-built manufacturing facility in 2020. Once the facility is fully operational, the company expects it will employ approximately 600 people. Edwards’ investment in the project is expected to amount to approximately €80 million.
Dr Pat Daly, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Economic Development with Limerick City and County Council said: “The investment by Edwards Lifesciences is a major vote of confidence for the region. We are demonstrating again and again that we can compete with other areas in Ireland and around the world for foreign direct investment.”
“The strategy is to build a strong cluster of companies in the med tech/ life sciences sector, and today’s announcement bolsters these plans.”
“Again it is the collaborative ecosystem in the Limerick city region that is an advantage when it comes to winning investment opportunities.”
“Limerick city was recently named European City of the Future 2018/19 as well as ranking first for Business Friendliness and FDI Strategy in its population category by fDi Intelligence, a specialist division from The Financial Times Ltd. Today’s announcement shows that Limerick’s strategy is working and the Limerick city region is a prime location for companies wishing to invest.”