Limerick medical device maker Croom Medical has announced plans to recruit an additional 80 staff after opening a €12m manufacturing facility in Croom.
The company, which makes highly specialised medical devices for use in sterile hospital settings in North America and globally, is in the process of increasing its workforce four-fold over a period of 18 months, from 45 last July to 170 at the end of 2022.
The firm will also develop a further manufacturing facility in the Croom area, which is expected to open in 2023 as it continues to scale operations amid rapidly rising demand.
Croom Medical was established by Paddy Byrnes in 1984 and is now led by his son, Patrick Byrnes, who joined the company four years ago.
The opening of the new facility was attended by minister and local TD Niall Collins.
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"Our state of the art facility hosts some of the most advanced manufacturing technologies in Ireland," Patrick Byrnes stated.
"We have made a number of strategic investments in Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Machining Centres and Automation. Our team is looking forward to increasing our footprint to facilitate 80 new high value roles in order to meet customer demand on a global level.”
Croom Medical is located close to a hub of global medical device manufacturers who have significant operations in the south and west of Ireland and with whom the company has longstanding relations.
Capital growth investor BGF last year invested in the firm for a 29% stake. with former Glen Dimplex COO and co-investor Michael Maher appointed as non-executive chairman after investing for a 4% shareholding.
"This is a superb business which is a wonderful tribute to the Byrnes family and to the hard work which Paddy and now Patrick and the team have put in to grow the business from humble beginnings to a significant presence in a vital part of the international healthcare sector," minister Collins stated.
Tom Kelly from Enterprise Ireland added: "Croom Medical is an excellent example of an Irish company that has successfully implemented an agreed growth action plan while meeting the multifaceted needs of its customers across the world, and willing to bring in external growth capital to drive this plan."
Operating company Croom Precision Tooling Ltd booked a net profit of €152,000 in the year to October 2020 as €5m was invested in plant and machinery.
Photo: Croom Medical founder Paddy Byrnes (right) and his son Patrick Byrnes.
