100 new tech R&D jobs are to land in Limerick city through an expansion by Becton Dickinson (B&D) and Company in a €21m investment.
The €21m investment in the new Centre of Excellence includes an extensive renovation of the former Unigolf facility in the National Technology Park.
Once completed, the new R&D centre will house 200 people, including the 100 people who already work in tech R&D at BD in Limerick.
‘Every job created has a positive impact on a family and wider community’
– MARY MITCHELL O’CONNOR, TD
The project is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland.
The BD Limerick Centre of Excellence will initially be focused on product and software development, clinical research instrumentation and prototype development, primarily for the company’s life sciences businesses.
A foundation of excellence
“Ireland is an important part of our growth plans, and the Limerick Centre of Excellence is foundational in our objective to build an agile, world-class global organisation to deliver an R&D portfolio that drives growth,” said Ellen Strahlman, executive vice-president in charge of R&D and chief medical officer of BD.
“This will require significant hiring of R&D associates, collaboration with local universities and the development of new technical capabilities.
“Areas served by activities and products arising from our new R&D Centre of Excellence will include the fields of microbiology and molecular biology, clinical and cellular research analysis, and industrial microbiology.
“Customers will include hospitals, laboratories and clinics, reference laboratories, industrial laboratories, physicians’ office practices, alternate site health care, academic and government institutions, and research facilities. Limerick will be very important for our strategic growth,” Strahlman said.
Jobs Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor, TD, cited BD’s investment as a vote of confidence in the Limerick region.
“Every job created has a positive impact on a family and wider community,” O’Connor said.
“This new project builds on our existing cluster of life sciences companies in this region and is very welcome. The mid-west has a very skilled talent pool and this amongst other benefits is attracting some of the big players to the region.”
BD is a long-standing investor in Ireland, with a legacy of investment that extends back to 1964.
“BD has invested significantly in Irish jobs and the Irish economy since 1964 with two sites in Drogheda and Dún Laoghaire, employing more than 500 people in highly skilled positions,” said IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan.
“With the recent acquisition of GenCell Biosystems Ltd in Limerick, the number of BD employees in Ireland has risen to nearly 600.”
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