Medical devices firm to create 100 jobs in west

ABOUT 100 jobs are to be created at a US medical devices firm in the west of the country.

Merit Medical is to invest €6.7m at its Galway plant and turn the facility into its main European manufacturing centre.

Enterprise Minister Batt O’Keeffe said the investment was a significant development for the life sciences sector in Ireland.

“The 100 new jobs will add to our reputation as a global leader for life science firms,” he said. “Merit Medical has been in Galway for 16 years and the firm’s decision to expand and target research and development adds momentum to the Government’s strategy to move Ireland up the value chain and capture a greater share of the innovation market.”

Merit Medical Ireland Limited (MMIL), established in Galway in 1994, manufactures guide-wires and inflation devices used in hospitals worldwide. The company now plans to use the facility to expand into the surgical pre-pack business in Europe.

The firm already employs 250 people in Parkmore, Galway. It has 1,700 staff worldwide, with other facilities in Salt Lake City and South Jordan, Utah; Angleton, Texas; Richmond, Virginia; and Maastricht and Venlo in the Netherlands.