BD Opens New State-of-the-art R&D Facility in Limerick
BD, a leading global medical technology company, is to create 85 new jobs for the Limerick region. The announcement was made as Minister for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection Pat Breen TD, officially opened BD’s Research Centre Ireland (RCI) in Limerick’s National Technology Park. The €21 million investment in BD’s new centre of excellence has already seen 100 jobs recruited for the facility in 2017 and early 2018. The 85 additional positions will bring the total number of employees across BD’s two Limerick sites to 285.
The project is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation through IDA Ireland.
BD was founded in 1897 and has had a presence in Ireland since 1964. The company provides solutions that help advance medical research and genomics, enhance the diagnosis of infectious disease and cancer, improve medication management and infection prevention and support the management of diabetes. BD’s new Research Centre Ireland (RCI) is focused on product and software development, clinical research instrumentation and prototype development, expanding the existing community of Life Sciences companies in the region.
The 85 new roles are for a variety of highly skilled positions such as software, hardware and systems engineering, scientists, and technical management, with the majority being brought on-stream by the end of this year.
Dennis Gilbert, Senior Vice President for R&D at BD, said that the new roles are critical to BD’s long term global growth plan: “This new centre has been established to serve as a global R&D hub for our businesses and is key to our long-term strategic growth plans. BD’s decision to open our global research centre here in Limerick is based on the region’s highly skilled talent, our strong relationships with local universities and Limerick’s stellar reputation as an important Life Sciences hub. Announcing 85 additional new jobs today further strengthens our commitment to investing in Ireland, and we will be able to further accelerate our recruitment efforts here to continue to build on our expertise and capabilities.”
Officially opening the new facility, Minister Breen said “This announcement by BD is a vote of confidence in the Mid-West region as a destination for high-end medical technology companies. It will provide excellent employment opportunities and contribute greatly to the local economy of the region. I would like to wish BD continued success and assure them of our ongoing support.”
Mary Buckley, Executive Director of IDA, said, “Winning investment for regional locations is a key focus for IDA Ireland and this project is an excellent one to secure for this region.”
