Acquisition complete in Ringaskiddy

SGS International Services Laboratory has officially started operating in Ringaskiddy.

It follows its recent acquisition from Novartis, International Service Laboratory (ISL). The company has said that all of the 103 highly skilled employees from ISL have transferred to SGS.

It has also been announced that Yvonne Dunne, Head of International Service Laboratory, has been appointed to the newly created position of Health and Nutrition Business Manager - Ireland.

Eugene Kirwan, Managing Director of SGS Ireland said: “We’re very excited about welcoming the new team onboard. The facility is an important step in expanding our local and global health and nutrition business. We believe Ireland represents a strategic global development hub for the sector and the Ringaskiddy site is an important addition to our global network of GMP (good manufacturing practice) approved laboratories.”

SGS said that it has committed to investing in the Ringaskiddy site, particularly in the areas of IT and innovation in analytical techniques.

Part of the SGS existing local health and nutrition global services team presently based in Ireland will re-locate to the site including some of the global commercial team associates to help expand existing services to new clients, develop new services and other roles in health and nutrition for the site.

Yvonne Dunne said there is strong talent in Ireland, making the Cork base ideal for SGS to grow its health and nutrition offering.

“There is a unique pharma cluster in Ireland, and in particular in Cork, with great collaboration and innovation. And through supports from Government and IDA, Ireland has developed a strong national research and third level eco-system, with 30 per cent of students going into STEM. So, we believe there is huge potential for the sector in the country,” she said.

SGS Ireland currently employs more than 300 people in Ireland.