Cork engineering firm BCD completes €10m expansion plan

Company said it now has extra capacity and automated manufacturing to deliver to wider European markets

BCD was one of several businesses set up in the Cork-Limerick region after the closure in the 1980s of Golden Vale Engineering. Picture: Sean Curtin.

Engineering firm BCD has renewed its commitment to its base in Cork following the completion of a €10m investment that funded the expansion of its base in Charleville.

The project marks the company’s 40th year in operation in Cork. During this time, it has become one of the largest employers in the area and has secured contracts with Big Pharma multinationals including Pfizer, Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca as well as agreements with other firms such as Carbery, Dairygold, Danone, Tírlan and Irish Distillers.

“BCD today is a leader in process engineering systems, creating solutions for the domestic and export market for some of the biggest names in food and beverage, pharma, biotech and chemical industries,” said BCD chief executive Richard Keays.

The company suggested it remains optimistic about Ireland’s economy despite a fall in exports this year. BCD said it now has extra capacity and automated manufacturing to deliver to wider European markets.

Ireland’s open economy continues to be exposed to vulnerabilities in international markets, which resulted in falling exports this year.

Pharma exports suffered in 2023 after outperforming during the pandemic, declining 6% on a year-on-year basis for the first three quarters of the year, according to a recent report by the Economic and Social Research Institute, or ESRI.

However, they recovered some ground towards the end of the year.

There are “good reasons to believe that is a temporary blip”, said ESRI associate research professor Conor O’Toole.

Overall, the ESRI said it anticipated the economy to grow next year and the “big shock we’ve seen for this year to be a one-off”, said Mr O’Toole.

BCD is ideally placed to work with the several pharma multinationals that have set up a base in the South-West region as part of the IDA's plan to grow a "cluster" of life science foreign direct investment in that area. 

BCD’s expansion comes after Italian-headquartered company Masco Group bought it four years ago and it now employs 240 full-time staff and works with a further 100 contractors.

Masco Group CEO Luca Borella said the company acquired BCD as it “opened opportunities” to other markets, particularly due to its list of pharma clients.

Masco provides liquid production and water systems for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. The company is controlled by German investment company RSBG, a long-term global investor in market-leading firms aiming for sustainable development, focusing on engineering technology, products and services.

The renovation of its facility in Charleville included the installation of solar panels in an effort to have 60% of its energy from renewable resources by the end of 2024.

Founder of BCD John McMahon said the completion of the €10m investment ensured the company would “be sustained long into the future”.

BCD was one of several businesses set up in the Cork-Limerick region after the closure in the 1980s of Golden Vale Engineering.