Up to 400 jobs are to be created at a manufacturing and assembly plant in Waterford due to begin operating in the summer.
An official announcement has yet to be made but recruitment is already well under way for the Nypro Waterford plant in the IDA industrial park, where the company is extending a 25,000-square-foot advance factory purchased in September.
Sixty engineers, technicians and general operatives are being trained in the Dublin area and the company is now in its second phase of recruitment for the plant.
Nypro Waterford's general manager, Mr Pat Holohan, said the plant will be in operation by May or June and expects to employ between 300 and 400 within three years. Up to 100 people are currently employed at any one time in construction of the plant, which is being extended to four times its original size.
Nypro engages in contract manufacturing and will initially be assembling products for a client in the computer industry, he said.
The company, which is a 50 per cent Irish-owned joint venture with Nypro Inc in the United States, employs more than 400 at its plant in Bray. Mr Holohan stressed the Waterford operation would be skills-based, requiring a high ratio of technicians to general operatives.
The company, he added, was working in close co-operation on the project with Enterprise Ireland.
Waterford proved an attractive location because of the availability of workers with the right skills, he said. About 95 per cent of those recruited to date live within 15 miles of the city. The company has just begun discussions with Waterford Institute of Technology with a view to maximising opportunities for graduates.
The project will be received as a significant jobs boost for the city, which suffered a number of setbacks last year, including the loss of major employers Luxottica and Tech Industries.