Waterford celebrates boost as multinationals to create 270 jobs

WATERFORD’s descent into economic gloom was halted yesterday by confirmation of 270 new jobs for the county thanks to big expansion programmes by two multinationals.

Following recent job losses at Waterford Crystal, Glanbia and other important employers, the news came as a welcome boost to Waterford city and Dungarvan, with multi-million-euro investments set to copper-fasten the positions of Genzyme and Microchem as big players in their respective fields.

The job announcements, backed by IDA Ireland, were made during a visit to the county by Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister Micheál Martin.

Global biotechnology company Genzyme, based in Massachusetts, is to invest €130 million at its Waterford operation, creating 170 high-skilled positions over the next three years. The company already employs more than 400 at its city facility.

Genzyme’s products and services are focused on rare, inherited disorders, kidney disease, orthopaedics, cancer, transplant, and diagnostic testing. The new investment programme will expand the company’s sterile fill/finish manufacturing operation, introduce soft gel capsule manufacture and significantly expand the laboratory and office accommodation.

Mr Martin described the development as “excellent news for the staff, potential new recruits and for Waterford and the south-east region”. Genzyme had been a “tremendous addition” to the biopharmaceutical industry in Ireland since its arrival in 2001, he said.

Genzyme senior vice-president Mark Bamforth said that the expansion was a “ringing endorsement” of the company’s positive experience in Waterford over the past seven years. “A key factor in that original decision was the supportive environment for business and ‘can do’ attitude we experienced during our site evaluation process. This has certainly been borne out by our experience to date and several of Genzyme’s leading products are now shipped from Waterford to patients around the world,” he said.

According to the company’s human resources director Paul Shanahan, recruitment will begin immediately for the first of the additional positions created by the expansion project.

Mayor of Waterford city Cllr Mary O’Halloran welcomed the “high-quality, high-end jobs” involved in yesterday’s announcement. “Genzyme is internationally renowned as one of the largest, independent biotechnology companies in the world. Its presence in Waterford does much to enhance our appeal as a key multinational hub,” she said.

Meanwhile, Mr Martin also confirmed an expansion by Lancaster Laboratories at its Microchem Labs plant in Dungarvan which will result in the creation of 100 jobs over the next five years.

Local TD and Social Affairs Minister Martin Cullen welcomed the news and said that the IDA Ireland-supported positions will require applicants at PhD, masters and graduate levels. “Microchem has always been at the cutting edge, developing and flourishing over the past 22 years under the guidance of its committed founders,” said Mr Cullen. “It must be very rewarding for them to witness this expansion of what was originally a home-based business initiative.”