A major $40m investment by GE Healthcare at Carrigtwohill in Cork is expected to dramatically increase the company’s labour force at a manufacturing facility that is about to see its production capacity double.
The Carrigtwohill site produces medical imaging contrast media, with production set to rise from 22.5m units a year up to 43m units a year with the help of the 140 new jobs.
The units produced at the Cork base are used in medical scans to aid the diagnosis of disease in more than 80 markets internationally.
Contrast media is commonly used during MRI scans and may be ingested by or injected into a patient in order to improve the visibility of the body’s internal structure.
Only three years ago, another $10m was put into the same site, with Paschal McCarthy, MD of global supply chain at GE, calling today’s news a “key development” for the company and the region.
“We are proud to be part of GE Healthcare’s life sciences division as it grows and positions itself to meet the international demand for precision medicine, biologics and other advanced medicines such as cell and immunotherapies,” he said.
“Most importantly, this investment in our facility represents a significant vote of confidence in our people and their commitment to delivering the very best possible products available in the market.”
Welcoming the expansion, Martin Shanahan, CEO of IDA Ireland, said: “The life sciences sector continues to thrive in Ireland.
“This increase in the production of this diagnostic tool is a real endorsement of the Carrigtwohill facility by GE Healthcare. IDA Ireland will continue to target further investment in this sector in the coming months.”
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