150 new jobs were announced for Athlone yesterday (Wednesday) as it was revealed that Teleflex Medical, a US company, is to establish its European Headquarters at the IDA Business and Technology Park in the town. Twenty-four members of staff are already believed to have been hired for the new headquarters and the plant is to employ 85 people by mid-2008, with the remainder in place one year later. Most of the jobs are expected to be filled by graduates with language skills and IT skills. Teleflex Medical is a global medical technology company providing medical devices used in respiratory care, anaesthesia, urology and a range of surgical procedures. Supported by IDA Ireland, the new investment will create up to 150 new high quality jobs over five years in areas such as multilingual customer service, finance, HR, IT, planning and administration. This is Teleflex Medical’s second operation in Ireland. It has a highly successful manufacturing operation in Limerick since 1983. The 150 jobs – announced by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin – will provide attractive employment opportunities for local graduates, according to Fianna Fáil TD Michael Finneran. ‘Teleflex Medical is a global medical technology company with operations in 18 countries and it is establishing its European Headquarters in Athlone. This is welcome news for Athlone and for the people of Mid and South Roscommon, especially in light of the jobs recently lost at Medsystems,’ said Deputy Finneran. Teleflex Medical, designs, manufactures and markets products under well known medical device brands, including Rusch, Hudson RCI, Gibeck, Pilling, Weck, KMedic and Deknatel. The business had revenues of $859 million in 2006, has operations in 18 countries and employs over 7,000 people worldwide. The European Headquarters in Ireland will cater for its expansion needs. Making the announcement, Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin said, ‘We strongly welcome this additional Teleflex investment to Ireland which was won against intense competition from a number of other European locations. We are delighted that the company’s positive experience to date in Ireland and the success of its Limerick operation led them to make another significant investment here. The Midlands region continues to be a very attractive location to multinational companies of this calibre and scale for reasons such as the availability of highly educated graduates, experienced personnel, a wide choice of property solutions, an international standard infrastructure and a highly desirable quality of living and working environment.’ Teleflex Medical President Ernest Waaser said: ‘Establishing a European Headquarters based in Ireland enhances our ability to provide superior customer service levels and improved financial efficiencies, as we continue to expand our product offerings, markets and customer base globally. The availability of highly educated graduates with strong language skills, proximity to the Athlone Institute of Technology, Ireland’s existing base of premises were some of the reasons why we chose Athlone. We look forward to doing business here for years to come.’ Teleflex Incorporated was established in 1943. It employs over 21,000 people worldwide and operates three divisions: Commercial – serving customers in the automotive, marine and industrial sectors; Medical – with products for hospitals, home health and medical devices manufacturers; and Aerospace – involving a range of components and service for aircraft engines and cargo handling systems. The company had revenues of $2.5 billion for 2006. Teleflex Medical Limited was established in Limerick in 1983, with the support of IDA Ireland. It currently employs 135 people and manufactures plastic tubing, braided tubing and medical product components in three Units – medical, surgical and OEM. Key customers include Boston Scientific, Becton Dickinson, B Braun, Baxter and Abbott. In 2002 it established a R&D and Product Development Centre, again with IDA support. The R&D has delivered high value products and enhanced the operations capabilities.
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