13th November 2013, Wednesday
By TheCork.ie
news@TheCork.ie
Charleville engineering company BCD announced today the creation of 40 new jobs
resulting from a new multi million euro vaccine plant project in the Asian market.
The jobs will be a mix of engineering and trades roles in the company’s design and
manufacturing divisions. The announcement comes after recent pharmaceutical and
biotechnology project wins in the Irish, UK and Belgium markets. The north Cork
company celebrated 30 year in business this year and currently employs 190 staff.
Speaking at the announcement of the new jobs, CEO of BCD, Sean McGowan
said the roles will be a mix of high value engineering positions working in the
company’s process design areas. A number of skilled crafts roles will also be created
including the recruitment of a number of apprentices across a variety of trades.
He outlined ‘the announcement is a great boast for the company and the
north Cork area bringing our head count to 230 employees. The current
strength of the multinational marketplace combined with our reputation
in the pharma, diary and biotechnology sectors helped to secure these
contracts.
He added ‘the outlook looks very positive based on our investment
in a number of new processes that has opened up new international
and sector opportunities. We also continue to enjoy strong working
relationships with some of the largest Irish players in the market that
provide the backbone to our business.’ McGowan also revealed the company
is in advanced negotiations on a number of large Irish and European projects in the
pharmaceutical and bio technology sectors.
Despite the good news the CEO highlighted how the scarcity of available engineers
in Ireland may force the company to look overseas to fill a number of the roles. He
outlined ‘these new contract wins will create high value roles for the area
however, the industry as a whole is encountering problems in filling these
types of positions. There is a widespread problem caused by emigration
resulting in indigenous engineering companies like ourselves struggling to
fill the roles due to an industry engineering skills shortage.’
McGowan added ‘this year BCD celebrated 30 years in operation. The
long term impact on the local area is evident by the generations of
families who have worked in the company. We have a number of
employees whose father and grandfather worked with BCD highlighting
how ingrained BCD is within the local community. This announcement
will safeguard local employment with a further direct impact on local
businesses and suppliers.’ BCD confirmed that the company will commence
recruitment immediately to fill the roles announced today.