Abbott announces new manufacturing facility in Kilkenny along with 800 new jobs
Kenneth Fox
Abbott has opened a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Kilkenny with a ceremony attended by the Taoiseach, Simon Harris and Abbott chairman and chief executive officer, Robert Ford.
The site is a global manufacturing centre of excellence for Abbott’s diabetes care business and will employ more than 800 people.
The Kilkenny facility is part of a €440 million investment in Ireland, which also includes a significant expansion of the company’s Donegal site, where a further 200 jobs are being created.
The new 30,000-square meter Kilkenny facility is producing FreeStyle Libre 3 sensors, the world’s smallest sensors and latest generation in Abbott’s world-leading continuous glucose monitoring portfolio for people living with diabetes.
They said the Kilkenny facility was built with sustainability in mind. The site is fully electric, powered by six air-to-water heat pumps, has nearly 600 solar panels on the roof and features tanks for collecting rainwater to use onsite.
Demonstrating its further commitment to Ireland, Abbott is announcing a new $100,000 (€95,000) grant to The Ireland Funds.
The grant, which will be run by The Fund’s scholarship wing, No Mind Left Behind, will fund three 2024 Leaving Certificate graduates, enabling them to take up third-level education.
The scholarship recipients are all from local DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) schools including Coláiste Mhuire, Grennan College and Castlecomer Community School.
All students are pursuing their education in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects, which aligns with Abbott’s drive to support more young people into STEM careers.
Outside Ireland, Abbott is expanding its manufacturing capacity across Europe with a further £85 million (€101 million) investment in its Witney facility in Oxfordshire, UK.
Speaking at the event, Taoiseach, Simon Harris said, "Abbott, which has been in Ireland since 1946, is one of the longest-established global companies and largest employers in our country.
"This latest investment is a further vote of confidence in Ireland as a location for world-class advanced manufacturing and healthcare businesses. With the opening of this new site, Ireland is now at the global centre of diabetes care."
Speaking about the investment, Robert Ford, chairman and chief executive of Abbott said: "This is our latest commitment to providing innovative care and supporting people with diabetes to live healthier lives.
"The state-of-the-art Kilkenny facility will have the highest production of Libre sensors in the world to help meet the growing global demand for our world-leading FreeStyle Libre portfolio.
"Ireland plays a crucial role in helping Abbott deliver on our purpose, with 10 sites across all four provinces supporting our work in diagnostics, medical devices and nutrition."
