Merck Reveals Major Irish Expansion

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Science, technology and pharmaceutical major Merck Group (Darmstadt, Germany) is to spend 440 million euro (US$474 million) to expand its membrane and filtration manufacturing capabilities in Ireland.

The investment will be split across its membrane manufacturing capacity in Carrigtwohill and the construction of a new manufacturing facility at Blarney Business Park, both located in County Cork, in the south of Ireland. It is the largest single site investment by the company's Life Science business unit and will lead to the creation of more than 370 permanent jobs by the end of 2027. The company already employs more than 600 people in Cork.

The investment was welcomed by Ireland's Taoiseach, Micheál Martin: "I welcome today's very significant announcement from Merck, which underlines the company's commitment to doing business in Ireland. This investment, the largest in the history of Merck Life Science, speaks volumes about our capacity to provide the right conditions for multinational organizations to grow their operations. Ireland's development of a strong life sciences ecosystem has been one of our greatest economic successes. I am delighted that Merck has chosen Cork for its latest investment. I wish the team continued success, as they work towards improving lives around the world."

At Carrigtwohill, Merck is investing 290 million euro (US$312 million) to expand the site with a manufacturing facility for the immersion casting of membranes, which support novel and gene therapies, as well as applications like virus sterilization. The membranes also serve its Process Solutions business, which offers products and services for the whole pharmaceutical manufacturing value chain. Merck is aiming to increase its Group sales to approximately 25 billion euro (US$27 billion) by 2025 through greater levels of investment.

It aims to spend roughly 150 million euro (US$161 million) at Blarney Business Park to build a new filtration manufacturing facility. Once fully operational, it will increase Merck's global manufacturing capacity and supply customers producing both traditional and novel treatments and therapeutics.

Martin McAuliffe, managing director and head of Cork operations at Merck, said: "Today's announcement of the decision to construct a new membrane manufacturing facility in Carrigtwohill and the development of a new filtration manufacturing facility in Blarney is a testament to the capability, hard work and dedication of all our colleagues here in Cork. Beyond that, it is a statement of Merck's commitment to our Irish operations. These new investments secure a bright future for Merck in Cork and enable us to expand our capabilities here, generating new employment opportunities in future technology."

Merck announced a major investment plan for its Life Science business in February. In addition to Cork, the company has invested in Wuxi, China; Darmstadt, Germany; Buchs, Switzerland; Molsheim, France; and in the U.S. in Carlsbad, California; Madison, Wisconsin; Jaffrey, New Hampshire; and Danvers, Massachusetts.

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