By Business & Finance 
Abbott, the global healthcare provider, turned sod in April this year at its new manufacturing facility in Kilkenny, which currently employs 300 people during construction. Abbott is our FDI of the Month August 2023.
In April of this year, Abbott welcomed Simon Harris TD, Minister for Justice and Minister of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to the site of its new manufacturing facility in Kilkenny,
Minister Harris was joined by Jared Watkin, Senior Vice President of Abbott’s Diabetes Care Business, and together they ‘turned the sod’ on the site to mark the construction of the 30,000 sqm facility.
Kilkenny site
The Kilkenny site will be a ‘global manufacturing centre of excellence’, according to Abbott, and will house the company’s FreeStyle Libre 3 continuous glucose monitoring portfolio.
There is approximately 300 people working during the site’s construction. There is expected to be 800 people by the time manufacturing begins in 2024. Recruitment is currently underway.
The new roles will be in engineering, quality control, medical device manufacturing and other science-based areas.
Medtech
Speaking at the event, Minister Simon Harris, said: “With a footprint in all four provinces, Abbott has played a leading role over the past 77 years in establishing Ireland as a location for the global medtech sector. This new investment in Kilkenny will add to the high value STEM jobs already created in the South-East region by Abbott at its vascular manufacturing facility in Clonmel. This is an important investment for Ireland, and I am delighted to congratulate Abbott on this new diabetes care manufacturing facility in Kilkenny.”
Jared Watkin said: “Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre is the number one sensor-based glucose monitoring system in the world, having changed the lives of 4.5 million people across more than 60 countries by providing breakthrough technology that is accessible and affordable. This new facility, together with our diabetes care facility in Donegal, will help us meet the growing demand and bring new highly skilled jobs to the community.”
IDA Ireland
The building of Abbott’s new facility in Kilkenny is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.
Abbott was one of the first multinational companies to establish in Ireland and is currently the only one with operations in all four provinces. This new investment will bring Abbott’s total employment in the country to approximately 6,000 people across 10 sites, including seven manufacturing operations.
