US bio-pharma giant Eli Lilly has announced a $1billion investment in a medicine manufacturing site in Limerick that will deliver almost 1500 temporary and permanent jobs.
Lilly, which already employs almost 2,700 people at Kinsale and Little Island in Cork, aims to generate 1,200 jobs during the construction phase of its new campus in Raheen and 300 permanent roles when it is fully operational.
The announcement was welcomed by Trade and Employment Minister Simon Coveney at a launch event on the Raheen site today.
Lilly said the Limerick site will operate at 35 per cent lower energy intensity, use 40 per cent less water and produce 15 per cent less waste compared to traditional pharma manufacturing sites.
Lilly chief executive and chairman David Ricks said the Limerick manufacturing site will be a fully integrated digital site with the latest machine automation, manufacturing execution, and data technologies.
Since 1978 Lilly has had a growing presence in Ireland, forging close links between the life sciences industry, communities, and universities with strong science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) programmes in Limerick and across the country”
The company, which has a longstanding commitment to sustainability and environmental issues, has already developed a comprehensive plan for the management of Hordeum secalinum, a protected species of meadow barley, on the Raheen site.
Its Limerick campus design also includes plans for a significant solar energy investment to produce 3.17 million kWh of renewable solar energy per year, which is enough to power 755 homes.
The site design also includes the provision of cisterns to harvest rainwater for re-use within the site, resulting in a saving of roughly two million litres of water per annum.
