The International firms shortlisted for the Cork Chamber Company of the Year Awards

In the final of a four-part series looking at the finalists for Cork Chamber's Company of the Year Awards 2024, we profile the contenders in the International company category

Mary Lane, Senior Director Commercialisation at PepsiCo. Picture: Clare Keogh

PepsiCo’s five decades of business in Cork

Global food and beverage company PepsiCo has almost reached 50 years in business in Ireland where it has grown from a 30-person operation to a workforce of 1,250.

Most of staff in Ireland are based at PepsiCo’s two Cork sites in Carrigaline and Little Island, where it has based its headquarters for global manufacturing operations servicing customers across the globe.

The company is among the nominees in the International Business of the Year category at the upcoming Cork Chamber Awards.

“We are delighted to be finalists in Cork Chamber’s International Company of the Year, especially this year as it coincides with our 50-year anniversary of doing business from our home in Cork,” said Mary Lane, senior director of commercialisation at PepsiCo Ireland.

Last year, PepsiCo continued its expansion into Cork with a further €39m investment into its facility on Little Island.

This cash injection followed a €127m investment in the same site and the adjacent research and development facilities in early 2023. In addition to new investment, the company said at the time that it was committed to hiring more staff despite a tight labour market.

The company has also invested in some environmentally friendly measures at its Cork locations. For example, its Carrigaline plant is now 100% fossil fuel-free through the use of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), a renewable biofuel. It has also installed solar panels. The company is on track to achieve its 2030 target of 75% reduction in the rest of its Ireland based plants.

PepsiCo is the world’s second-largest food and beverage company and its products are consumed by customers in more than 200 countries and the company generated more than $86bn (€79bn) in net revenue in 2022, driven by a beverage and convenience foods portfolio including Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade and Pepsi-Cola.

Today, PepsiCo’s Ireland campus includes a wide-ranging suite of business activities. Along with three beverage and food manufacturing operations, Cork is the headquarters for global manufacturing operations servicing customers across the globe. It also hosts the company’s research and development campus in the areas of measurement science, beverages, packaging and dairy. Global business services also operate from Ireland including engineering, financial services, procurement, quality, supply chain, marketing, customer insights, manufacturing and technology. Also, Cork’s expertise in global logistics ensures the fastest routes-to-market for new PepsiCo products.

PepsiCo said that over the next few years they will invest in Cork’s capability, expanding the technology for manufacturing operations, and scale digital solutions to improve capacity and agility.

BioMarin’s €355m investment in Cork

California-headquartered biopharmaceutical firm BioMarin has pledged to ramp up packaging capabilities at its Cork site before the end of the year through a €30m investment.

The investment is part of a €355m expansion plan that has been ongoing since 2011, when BioMarin chose Shanbally for its first non-US manufacturing site.

Conor Delaney, site lead and vice-president of Shanbally manufacturing operations at BioMarin International, which was created in 1997.

The focus on manufacturing operations at the Shanbally site “will continue to be an important node in our global supply chain as the company grows”, BioMarin said.

The company injected €38m into the site last year to develop the production facility over the next four years.

BioMarin’s staff in Ireland has grown from 12 employees in Cork in 2012 to 500 across its two locations, the other being Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin.

“Our culture in Shanbally revolves around a sense of community, collaboration, and a commitment to high performance. We take great pride in our place within the Cork business community and our impact on the local economy,” said Conor Delaney, site lead and vice-president of Shanbally manufacturing operations, of BioMarin International, which was created in 1997.

BioMarin makes drugs, including Roctavian, which a breakthrough gene therapy approved for the treatment of severe haemophilia A, a bleeding disorder.

“We’re not only focused on our current therapies, but also exploring new products, investing nearly a third of revenue back into research and development, double the industry average,” the company said.

BioMarin is among the nominees for ‘international company of the year’ for the upcoming Cork Chamber awards.

“This recognition is a wonderful testament to our team in Shanbally, who are dedicated to addressing unmet medical needs through expertise in genetics and molecular biology,” said Mr Delaney.

The company employs 800 people in its offices in 40 countries across Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

BioMarin is one of the foreign-direct investment firms that make up a cluster of life sciences firms in Cork, which includes heavyweights such as Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer.

Their manufacturing operations at the Shanbally site are an important node in their global supply chain. BioMarin said it intends to leverage the end-to-end commercial manufacturing capacity that has been installed in Cork to bring more products to patients around the world.

BioMarin has the ambitious goal of submitting two to three new drug applications per year, showing its commitment to R&D and placing the firm on a trajectory of accelerated growth.

In addition to drug manufacturing, the company has also placed more focus on its energy usage at its facility in Cork by using LED lighting and installing Solar PV.

Pharma giant Janssen to increase drug manufacturing in Cork

Pharmaceutical multinational Janssen Sciences Ireland said it expects to increase manufacturing capacity at its Ringaskiddy site in Cork by 2025 through a €150m project.

The company employs more than 1,000 staff at the location where it develops and manufactures treatments for lung cancer, multiple myeloma and biomedicines for immune-related diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis for patients in Ireland and around the world.

Dana Daneshvari. General Manager Janssen Sciences Ireland at The Janssen Pharmaceutical.

“Since its establishment in 2005, our site in Ringaskiddy has been at the cutting edge of delivering healthcare products which transform the lives of patients around the world,” said Dana Daneshvari, general manager at Janssen Sciences Ireland.

“We have an amazing team in Cork, made up of the best and brightest minds, and this recognition is a real testament to their talent and dedication.”

Total investment into the site has reached around €750m since the facility was established in 2005. Most of this money has been injected into establishing and expanding manufacturing, research and development capabilities.

The firm has put money towards building an end-to-end supply chain digital and analytics operation through process technology-enabling projects.

Their Ringaskiddy plant has developed a plan to enable its 2030 vision of becoming a more predictive and adaptive plant and in May last year it opened its Innovation Hub which facilitates the training and upskilling of staff.

The company said it continues to look at hiring opportunities despite the current tight labour market. It works continuously to attract and retain talent through partnerships with UCC and MTU.

In the last three years, the company has used virtual reality and augmented reality technology to support training and process modelling while also investing in a large wind turbine reduces site energy costs.

The company also has a designated a protected habitat for the Irish Arctic hare, an apiary and wildflower meadows.

In 2009, the facility started the production of two commercial products that treat immune-related conditions, psoriatic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

In 2023, six additional commercial products make up the site’s portfolio and Janssen secured US approval for its eighth commercial product.

The company has also invested significantly in its digital journey, appointing the first Digital & Technology Lead at the site as a pilot for the Global Janssen Supply Chain.

A roadmap has been developed to enable its vision of becoming a more predictive and adaptive plant. Last May they opened an Innovation Hub which facilitates the training and upskilling of staff in digital acumen, change management and problem-solving.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J), which owns Janssen, posted quarterly results just above expectations earlier this month, helped by strong sales of its blockbuster psoriasis drug Stelara.