US medical device company Abiomed is to open a new manufacturing facility in Athlone that it says will create 250 jobs over the next 18 months.
The plant will manufacture Abiomed’s Impella 2.5 product for patients suffering acute heart failure.
It will be based at the site of the former Conor Medsystems factory, which closed with the loss of 165 jobs in May 2007.
The Massachusetts-based company will be moving portions of its manufacturing facility in Aachen, Germany, to Athlone. It said it expected the first manufacturing line in Athlone to be in production within 18 months.
Abiomed has indicated its longer-term plans will be to designate Ireland as Abiomed’s global centre of excellence for high-volume disposable product manufacturing.
Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise Mary Coughlan said the decision was excellent news for the town and for Ireland. "It is companies of this highly sophisticated nature that we are striving to win."
"We faced strong global competition for the investment and it is a fantastic result for Ireland."