Connemara-based contract laboratory Complete Laboratory Solutions is to create 100 new jobs within two years as it celebrates 25 years in business.

The privately-owned lab has two facilities, one at Ros Muc and one in Galway city, CLS MedPharma which opened in 2008, and it employs 191 people at present, catering to a portfolio of more than 600 clients both in Ireland and globally.

CLS MedPharma will absorb 78 of the new jobs, with 18 going to the water and environmental services division at Ros Muc with the remainder located at client sites in Cork, Limerick, Dublin, Waterford and Sligo.

The MedPharma requirement will be for microbiology and analytical analysts, while Ros Muc will recruit environmental science graduates and food microbiologists. There will also be four new openings for staff in marketing, sales and finance.

Chief executive Evelyn O’Toole said: “Celebrating our 25th year in business has been incredible and I’m delighted to be announcing new jobs to mark the occasion. We are a key supplier in the industry catering to multinational companies both here and overseas, and this is as a result of us reinvesting in our services to make CLS a substantial, strong and innovative supplier. Our trained analysts on contract who supply fully managed solutions are currently at 20 client sites.”

In Association with

O’Toole founded her laboratory testing business in 1994, based in Ros Muc. Among other activities, the company carries out food testing for clients such as Supermacs and Circle K, with a fleet of vans collecting samples daily to check that ready-to-go food is free of bugs. A second arm to the business is testing water, waste water and sea water, with a strong niche in testing water for hydrocarbon contamination.

The announcement was made today at the biennial Med in Ireland event being stage at the RDS in Dublin. Around 100 Irish medical technology companies will meet with 300 international company buyers.

Med in Ireland, organised by Enterprise Ireland, is Ireland’s largest medical technologies event showcasing the entire spectrum of the Irish medtech sector. EI estimates there are over 300 medical technology companies in Ireland, of whom 200 are indigenous.

Photo: Evelyn O’Toole (right) and CLS colleague Anne O’Donnell with EI’s Stephen Creaner (left) and minister Pat Breen. (Pic: Orla Murray/ SON Photo)