TE Connectivity invests €5m in Galway medical prototyping centre

TE's Parkmore West site meets close to the complete worldwide demand for minimally invasive catheter metal shafts, such as coronary stents and neurovascular coils.

Medical technology firm TE Connectivity Corporation (TE) opened a new centre for prototyping medical devices at its existing manufacturing facility in the Parkmore West Business Park in Galway.

The American company said the new €5m centre will reduce development time by connecting engineers directly with customers and increasing the speed of medical devices to the market.

"By improving the speed of product development and manufacturing, TE will help customers innovate and iterate advanced treatments at a more efficient pace, ultimately transforming patient care for the better," said Mark Gill, director of operations, TE.

The new Propelus Prototype centre features advanced engineering capabilities, such as build-to-print services, quick turnaround prototype production and 3D printing. TE stated that the services will allow customers to leave the facility with a physical, functional prototype.

Mr Gill said the decision to locate the centre at its Parkmore West facility in Galway was "due to its global reputation for outsourced design and manufacturing services, as well as its standing as the largest metals fabricator for minimally invasive devices worldwide".

The Parkmore West site meets close to the complete worldwide demand for minimally invasive catheter metal shafts, such as coronary stents and neurovascular coils.

The launch of the Propelus Prototype centre will enable the firm to manufacture a greater variety of medical devices for interventional, surgical, imaging and sensor applications for leading medical technology brands.

TE first established itself in Galway in 1979 and now employs approximately 1,300 people in the region.