Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin T.D., today (Tuesday 5th February 2007) announced in Shannon, Co Clare, that Zimmer Holdings Inc, a global leader in medical devices, is to establish a new manufacturing operations base at the Shannon Free Zone. The Irish operation, with an investment of up to €50m in the first two years, will focus on the manufacture of Zimmer branded knee and hip products, and is expected to create 250 new high quality jobs supported by Shannon Development over the next five years. Winning this prestigious investment is the result of a significant collaborative marketing campaign undertaken jointly by Shannon Development and IDA Ireland.
Zimmer, with corporate headquarters in Indiana USA, is a global market leader in knee and hip products. Zimmer is the worldwide No.1 orthopaedic leader in designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing reconstructive and spinal implants, trauma and related orthopaedic surgical products.
Making the announcement, Minister Martin said: “Zimmer’s decision to establish at Shannon Free Zone adds significantly to Ireland’s profile as a leading location for medical device companies in Europe. The Medical Technology industry is extremely important to Ireland. The industry comprising medical device and diagnostic companies employs 25,000 people in approx 130 companies with exports of almost €5.5 billion per year which is 8% of Ireland’s exports.”
“Zimmer is a tremendous win for Ireland and the Shannon region. The talent pool of both technical skills and key infrastructure which has resulted in previous investments by leading international medical device companies will be enhanced by the decision of Zimmer to locate in Shannon. It was secured as a result of the close co-operation between the two agencies both Shannon Development and IDA Ireland in the face of international competition. Zimmer can be confident of finding highly skilled professionals and infrastructure of international standards in this part of the country as more and more companies are discovering the benefits of locating in regional centres throughout Ireland”, the Minister concluded.
“We are delighted to be adding a new location to our global network in Ireland” said Richard Stair, Senior Vice President, Global Operations & Logistics, Zimmer Holdings Inc. “We are constantly assessing our worldwide operations and logistics network to maximise efficiency and customer service, and this project is a result of that process. We are grateful for the co operation and encouragement of the national and local officials in Shannon and look forward to building a facility that utilises the tremendous skills and expertise of the workforce to produce high technology medical devices”.
According to Stair, “The rationale for this expansion is to diversify our manufacturing network and reduce risk, take advantage of a lower tax jurisdiction and prepare our supply chain for additional future unit volumes. This will provide us greater flexibility in scaling our capacity for future demand and reversing the upward pressure on our effective tax rate over the long term”.
Shannon Development’s Chief Executive, Kevin Thompstone, said: “This is a fantastic boost for Shannon; it is one of the largest manufacturing investment projects to locate at the Shannon Free Zone in recent years. We are delighted that Zimmer have chosen Shannon. Their decision represents a further endorsement of the area’s appeal as a leading manufacturing location for global technology companies”.
Managed by Shannon Development, the Shannon Free Zone is one of Ireland’s largest multi-sectoral business parks. The new positions created at Shannon Free Zone by today's announcement will be in the areas of management, quality, production, administration, logistics and maintenance and approximately one third will require a third level qualification.
Barry O’Leary, Chief Executive, IDA Ireland said: “Securing another leading name like Zimmer can only further the reputation of Ireland as a location for similar investments from companies of this calibre. As a result of the work of all the development agencies, Ireland is an internationally renowned location for orthopaedic medical devices. Today’s news is also an endorsement of the ‘Team Ireland’ approach where the collaborative effort of state development agencies, local authorities and educational establishments will continue to result in winning new investments for Ireland and support the strategy for balanced regional development.”
Nandi O’Sullivan
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