Irish automation firm to almost double in size adding 70 new jobs

Cork headquartered firm trebled revenues last year

Pictured with An Taoiseach Micheál Martin at SimoTech’s Carrigaline headquarters are (from l-r): Martin Corkery, Regional Director at Enterprise Ireland; Aishlyn Kerr, Talent Acquisition Lead at SimoTech; Pat Desmond, CEO at SimoTech; and Brian Clune, Head of Talent Management at SimoTech. Picture: Darragh Kane

Irish automation and IT Firm SimoTech is to significantly expand operations in Ireland creating 70 jobs over the next two years.

The company creates manufacturing IT systems for the pharma/biotech sector. In an announcement today, the company said the jobs will be based in Ireland, including Carrigaline in Cork where SimoTech has expanded to a new headquarters to facilitate its continued growth. 20 of these jobs will support the company's overseas work from Ireland, including its first contract in Singapore, working with a large vaccine provider on a major capital project in the region.

“SimoTech is an integral player in the global supply chain for pharmaceutical products, and in engineering the vital technologies that support their manufacture," Pat Desmond, CEO of SimoTech, said.

"Over the last three years, demand for automation expertise has allowed us to expand at a rate of 30% each year, doubling our client base. We have trebled our revenue to €14m in 2020 and doubled our staff numbers in the last three years.“   

Working with some of the largest biotech and pharma companies in the world, SimoTech has 85 staff working on projects across Ireland, the United States, Puerto Rico, Germany, and Singapore. The new roles will be created in the areas of Process Automation, Computer System Validation, Labs Informatics, IT Infrastructure and Project Management.

An Taoiseach Micheál Martin welcomed the announcement and said: “SimoTech is a shining example of the type of technical innovation Ireland has to offer, and I’m delighted to see it expand its global footprint while creating high-skilled jobs at home. Biotech and pharma are crucial sectors for the Irish economy and having home-grown companies of the calibre of SimoTech is essential to that success.” 

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD said “The creation of these 70 new jobs over the next two years is really positive news for SimoTech. Many of these high-quality jobs will be based in the company’s new headquarters in Carrigaline, Co Cork, which will be a huge boost for the local community and economy. Congratulations to the entire SimoTech team. I wish them every success with this expansion.” 

 Mr Desmond said the new roles are just the first step, as they look at expanding their footprint in the years ahead across Europe, the US, and Asia, while still building from Cork. 

"By embracing smart manufacturing technology, we are now able to provide 24/7, remote services to our clients, anywhere in the world. During the pandemic, that allowed these corporates to keep their plants operating, even when site visits were not possible due to restrictions. By providing these vital services remotely, we are also able to expand our business abroad while still supporting job creation at home in Ireland.”   

Martin Corkery, Regional Director for the South and South East at Enterprise Ireland, said: “Today’s announcement is a sign of major growth both in the company and in Ireland’s life sciences sector, which has demonstrated remarkable resilience throughout the pandemic. SimoTech is a great example of a true Irish success story, which has gone from strength to strength since it was founded just ten years ago. We look forward to continuing to work with the company and wish the team well in their future endeavours.”