The Shannon manufacturing site is expected to open in 2022, creating up to 100 new jobs.
PPG and OLED Material Manufacturing are creating up to 100 high-tech jobs as part of a multimillion-euro investment at a new Shannon manufacturing site.
This site will facilitate the production of energy-efficient materials to meet the growing organic light emitting diode (OLED) market demand.
Operations are set to commence in 2022, as regulatory approvals and facility renovations are still being completed. It is expected these will take up to 12 months.
Lighting technology company OLED Material Manufacturing, which is a subsidiary of Universal Display Corporation (UDC), will produce its UniversalPHOLED product onsite in partnership with industrial paints, coatings and materials company PPG.
PPG is the exclusive manufacturer of UniversalPHOLED emitter materials, and the company has been producing OLED materials for UDC for two decades.
“Leveraging UDC Ireland’s presence, the site’s infrastructure and the mid-west region’s top-level talent, we are excited about the new Shannon facility,” said Austin McCabe, director of OLED Material Manufacturing.
“Together with our long-term partner PPG, this multimillion-euro investment will expand the global manufacturing footprint for UDC’s proprietary state-of-the-art phosphorescent emissive materials to meet the substantial growth forecasted for the OLED market.”
The companies’ expansion in the Irish market is being supported by IDA Ireland. The agency’s CEO, Martin Shanahan, said the investment in Shannon “demonstrates the companies’ confidence in the availability of a skilled and talented workforce in the mid-west region”.
Gerry Cahill, PPG plant manager at Shannon, added: “This project will bring a broad spectrum of jobs, a large number of which are highly skilled, to the mid-west region … The expansion into Ireland with the addition of the Shannon facility shows confidence in not only the UDC-PPG partnership but also in Ireland as a place in which to invest and do business.”
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar, TD, called the investment “a welcome boost to the mid-west region”.
“It will make a significant contribution to Shannon and the Irish economy in terms of job creation, investment and innovation,” Varadkar added. “Technology is one of the fastest-growing sectors here in Ireland and globally, and I wish the team continued success.”
