AMERICAN HEALTHCARE company Hollister is to create 250 new jobs in Ballina as part of a major expansion to the plant, which acts as its European headquarters.
Hollister, which has been based in Ballina since 1976, specialise in the manufacture of continence care products and is worth €40m to the local economy. The €65m expansion in the plant will almost double the plant’s current workforce of 330.
Hollister’s senior VP Bob Crowe said Ballina had beaten off competition from alternative locations in the US and India – a battle that had been helped by Ireland’s low corporate tax rate and the support of the IDA.
Enterprise minister Batt O’Keeffe welcomed the development as a “major economic boost” which would further strengthen the healthcare sector in the west.
“Hollister has been part of the business community in Ballina for almost 35 years, contributing more than €52m annually to the Irish economy, including €40m spent on salaries and materials sourced locally in the west of Ireland,” he added.
The American Chamber of Commerce Ireland said that the country remained an attractive location for investment from American multinationals.
Work on the extension will begin shortly with 200 construction workers expected to be involved in the building phase. The expansion of the plant should be finished before the end of 2011.
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