Kirby Group Engineering opens €8 million Laois facility for off-site manufacturing and creates 50 jobs
Kirby Group Engineering has officially opened its new off-site manufacturing (OSM) facility at Junction 17 National Enterprise Park in Portlaoise, Co Laois. The €8m development is set to create 50 jobs and will be key to the continuing growth of the company as it manufactures a range of components for projects across Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe.
Kirby currently employs over 1800 people and has developed a first-class reputation in the life sciences, data centre, industrial, power and renewables sectors. The Limerick-headquartered firm is on track to record revenue of more than €700 million in 2024.
Over 20 people are already working at the Portlaoise facility and Kirby expects that figure to reach 50 by the end of next year. The team there provides fabrication, welding, engineering and BIM (Building Information Modelling) services. It also features a dedicated cleanroom to facilitate high purity pipework, as required by many of Kirby’s hi-tech clients. Components built at the Portlaoise plant will be transported to sites across all jurisdictions that Kirby operates in.
CEO of Kirby Group Engineering Mark Flanagan said: “OSM provides incredible savings when it comes to hours on site, equipment on site, scheduling control, quality control and of course health and safety. We now aim to complete 25% of our projects through prefabricated methods and this facility is central to that target. I’d like to congratulate our Operations Director Mikey Ryan on his vision and leadership in bringing this project to life and I’m truly excited to see the possibilities this Portlaoise site can help create for Kirby and our customer offering.”
In addition to the OSM services, the new building houses office space and a dedicated apprentice training facility, which will allow for classroom-based and practical education. Apprenticeships have been an integral part of Kirby’s talent pipeline for many years and the company is currently supporting more than 200 apprentices through their four years of training.
The job creation at the off-site manufacturing facility has come about with the support of Enterprise Ireland. Leo Clancy, Chief Executive Officer, Enterprise Ireland, said: “Enterprise Ireland is delighted to support this new development by Kirby Group. It supports a move to more modular construction in the building out of advanced manufacturing facilities thereby capturing more value and increasing sustainable employment for the region. I would like to congratulate Mark and all the team at Kirby on today’s opening and we look forward to continuing to work with the team to support the company’s operations and growth both in Ireland and in overseas markets providing high value services for global customers across multiple sectors.”
CAPTION:
CEO of Kirby Group Engineering Mark Flanagan (left) with Chief Executive of Enterprise Ireland Leo Clancy at the official opening of Kirby’s Off-site Manufacturing facility at Portlaoise.
