Shire celebrates 'critical milestones' in Dunboyne construction work
Global biotechnology firm Shire today held what it called an 'official site dedication event' at its new state of-the-art biologics facility in Dunboyne. The event was held "to celebrate the significant milestones achieved in the construction of the new facility".
Shire Dunboyne welcomed Meath East TDs, Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty and Minister of State for European Affairs, Helen McEntee, to the event attended by Shire Global Leaders, the IDA, local county councillors, members of Meath County Council, external business partners supporting the Dunboyne facility as well as invited guests from the local community.
Development of the 120-acre site has been underway since November 2017. Currently there are over 1,000 people supporting the construction activities on site, and significant progress has been made in the last 12 months. Shire currently has 60 people employed in Dunboyne and the site is on track to be operational by 2020.
Approximately 400 people will be employed at the facility when it is at full capacity. Today, recruitment is underway across multiple functional areas including manufacturing, quality assurance, quality control, engineering, finance, supply chain, automation, human resources and environmental health and safety.
The $400 million investment into the new biotech manufacturing facility will help Shire to meet the rapidly growing demand for its innovative medicines for people with rare diseases. The state-of-the-art facility will adopt single-use technology, will be highly automated and will also be the European Quality Control Hub for Shire’s biologics portfolio.
Susan Hynes, site lead for Shire Dunboyne, said: “Today’s site dedication event is a celebration of the critical milestones that we have reached in just 12 months at our new biologics manufacturing facility here in Dunboyne. At Shire, we are championing people with rare diseases every step of the way. Our ambition is a bold but simple one - to help people with rare diseases live better lives. We are immensely proud to be building our new facility in Co. Meath and that the pioneering medicines we produce here will help more patients around the world who need our innovative medicines. That drives us here at Dunboyne to achieve these critical milestones on behalf of our patients. We have received a great welcome from the local community and look forward to welcoming more people into our organisation as we continue to build our team for the future.”
Regina Doherty commented: “The $400m being invested in a new state of the art facility in Dunboyne is an incredible vote of confidence in this county and reflects what will be a long-term benefit for the community. A hi-tech facility like this provides the type of jobs for the future which will sustain local employment, develop a skilled local workforce and generate economic activity within the local economy which will have a knock-on effect on other local businesses.”
Helen McEntee, Minister of State for European Affairs, commented: “Today’s event is a timely reminder of Shire’s commitment to Dunboyne and to County Meath. Shire’s investment in Meath totalling almost $400 million, and when the site is complete and fully operational it will employ 400 people. This shows that the Action Plan for Jobs is delivering for Meath and the North-East Region as a whole."