Abbott today officially opened its new diabetes technology manufacturing facility in Kilkenny, Ireland. The site will employ more than 800 people.
The Kilkenny facility is part of a €440 million (approximately $465 million) investment in Ireland. The new 30,000-square meter Kilkenny facility will make sensors for the company's FreeStyle Libre 3 continuous glucose monitor. The site is fully electric, drawing power from six air-to-water heat pumps and nearly 600 solar panels on the roof. It also incorporates tanks for collecting rainwater to use onsite.
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As part of the capital infusion, the company will expand its Donegal site, where a further 200 jobs are being created.
"This is our latest commitment to providing innovative care and supporting people with diabetes to live healthier lives," said Robert Ford, Chairman and CEO, Abbott. "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."
Demonstrating its further commitment to Ireland, Abbott is announcing a new $100,000 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 investment in its Witney facility in Oxfordshire, UK.