Proposed €3m investment in the BD factory

A PROPOSED £3 million expansion programme at the Becton Dickinson factory on Donore Road could mean a big jobs bonanza for Drogheda. Although the proposal is at a very early stage and has to gain the approval of corporate management in America, it still provides a much-needed fillip to the current depressed iobs situation.

For as the winds of national and international recession bite hard, many firms are pruning their operations and introducing redundancies and short time working.

But the Irish section of Becton Dickinson, which employs 400 in the manufacture of hypodermic needles, wants to add a 40,000 sq. ft. extension to the Drogheda plant and a proposal to this effect has been submitted to the parent company in New Jersey, U.S.A.

Mr. Noel Harmon, the Drogheda B-D manager, told employees in a circular it was essential the Drogheda factory demonstrated by its production performance and good labour relations it could provide the stability to justify such a large investment.

Considerable discussion has already taken place with corporate management on the proposal and so far approval has been given for expenditures to survey the site, prepare architectural drawings and to seek planning permission. This work is” now going ahead.

However, final approval has not yet been given by the American parent company and will not be forthcoming until a full evaluation has been carried out on the project.