The Wasdell Group, a pharmaceuticals company headquartered in Swindon, UK, will hire 300 over the next five years in Dundalk, Co Louth.
UK speciality pharmaceuticals company Wasdell has revealed that it will open up a new packaging and distribution facility in Dundalk, Co Louth, which will create 300 jobs over the next five years.
The firm provides outsourcing requirement solutions to the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.
It specialises in the manufacturing of clinical trials packaging and primary and secondary packaging as well as the distribution of biopharmaceutical products.
Wasdell also offers contract manufacturing services with FDA and MHRA-approved analytical and microbiology laboratories.
It will construct a 70,000 sq ft greenfield facility on a 2.88-hectare site at IDA’s site in Mullagharlin, Dundalk, representing an investment of €30m.
This new location will serve as the company’s first expansion outside of the UK, where it presently has operations in Burnley and Newcastle and is headquartered in Swindon.
Wasdell will be offering roles in general management, QA and QC, including: QPs, production management and supervision, laboratory, engineering and maintenance, production operatives, warehouse, finance and administration, health and safety, and human resources.
Wasdell was established in 1971 by Richard Wasdell. In 2007, the company’s current CEO, Martin Tedham, acquired a majority share in the company and became managing director of the Wasdell Group.
Welcoming the announcement, Tedham stated: “Due to the rate of growth we are experiencing and the ongoing requirement to maintain capacity, a site in Ireland will be a means to facilitate this as well as an exciting opportunity for the group and, specifically, the Wasdell packaging division.
“We have always had a strong customer base in Ireland and we are certain that this trend will continue with the impending Brexit situation as companies typically from the UK and USA look to securing a base to service their European markets.”
The project is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland. Minister of State for Employment and Small Business Pat Breen, TD, said of the news: “Wasdell’s decision to locate this new operation in Dundalk, bringing 300 new jobs to the town, is a great vote of confidence in what Ireland has to offer, especially in a regional location.
“The Government has been driving job creation in locations, which are away from the bigger cities, and this new operation in Dundalk is a great vindication of that policy. It will provide additional facilities and services for our thriving pharmaceutical sector.
“This project builds on the tremendous success we have had in bringing new foreign projects to Dundalk, which has helped transform the economic standing of the town over a relatively short period.”
