Medical instrument firm to create 125 new jobs

A Japanese medical technology company is set to create 125 new jobs in a €10m investment in Co Galway, it was announced today.

USCI (Universal Sciences Catheter and Instruments) Japan will establish a research, manufacturing and distribution centre for its vascular products at Ballinasloe.

Around 20% of the jobs will be in research and development, with the rest in high-level manufacturing.

The investment is being facilitated by development agency IDA Ireland.

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin said the announcement was excellent news for Ballinasloe.

“The high-quality employment USCI will provide and its spending on salaries, goods and services will be a real boost to the area.

“USCI represents another important component in the expansive medical technologies infrastructure in Ireland and continues our aim to broaden the cluster of such companies in the BMW region,” he said.

Michael D Van Zandt, president and chief executive of USCI Japan, said: “Our primary goal in establishing this centre is to take advantage of the unique opportunity of directly linking the medical technology expertise of the west of Ireland with Japan, the most demanding and most sought-after market for the medical technology industry globally.

“Having researched a number of potential locations around the world for this investment we decided on Ireland.

“Ballinasloe stood out as the ideal choice due to the availability of the highly skilled workforce and management, the extensive medical technology expertise in the area, and the business-friendly environment.

“Thanks to the Ballinasloe location, we have been able to attract an extremely talented Irish management team, and look forward to the ongoing recruitment of equally talented people in line with our business plan,” he said.