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Jan 26th, 2024
Bioprocess equipment maker buys Ireland plant
US bioprocess equipment maker, ABEC, has taken a step into the European market by purchasing a former electronic component plant in Cork, Ireland.
The facility, previously owned by French firm FCI, will become a producer of custom engineered bioprocess equipment for the clinical and commercial manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals.
Emily Smith, marketing coordinator at ABEC, said: “Similar to our US HQ, we will be able to engineer, design, manufacture, and test the entire bioprocess – upstream, downstream and clean utilities.
“We will also provide comprehensive site services from this site.”
The bioprocessing equipment plant is expected to create around 100 new jobs in Fermoy, Co Cork, over the next two years.
Ireland’s minister for jobs, enterprise and innovation, Richard Bruton, said the news tied into the Government’s action plan for generating jobs in engineering and manufacturing.
“Here is a company deciding to invest in a regional area of high unemployment, in a facility left vacant in a devastating 2007 job loss announcement – a great example of what we are trying to achieve with our jobs plan,” commented Mr Bruton.
Bioprocess plant to grow on vacant land
Refurbishment works have commenced on the former FCI facility which occupies 13 acres of land on the outskirts of Fermoy. Recruitment is also expected to get underway in the coming weeks.
Fianna Fáil Fermoy councillor, Frank O’Flynn, welcomed the news, saying the economic benefits for Fermoy and the surrounding areas would be far-reaching.
Mr O’Flynn stated: “We have a young and flexible work force here and we will now be able to keep more people in the area. It also opens up the possibility for future investment.”
Delivering bioprocess solutions on a global basis
The investment, explained ABEC’s CEO Scott Pickering, marked a key component in ABEC’s wider strategy of delivering integrated bioprocess solutions on a global basis.
“The Fermoy facility will increase our capacity and allow us to better support our growing customer base in Ireland and Europe. We sincerely appreciate the support of the IDA as we establish our unique capabilities in Ireland.”
Ireland has become a magnet for biomanufacturing over recent years with investments from pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Regeneron and Eli Lilly.
ABEC Inc, a privately held company with headquarters in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA, has spent the last 40 years serving the needs of the global biopharmaceutical industry.
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