Fort Wayne Metals marks 20 years in Ireland

Fort Wayne Metals, a manufacturer of precision wire and components is celebrating 20 years of manufacturing in Ireland. 

The company’s Castlebar site, provides wire-based solutions to customers in the medical device sector. A celebratory event was held with employees, minister of state for trade promotion, digital and company regulation Dara Calleary TD, IDA Ireland, representatives from the Mayo County Council, academia, customers, and global Fort Wayne Metals leadership, honouring the anniversary and the impact Fort Wayne Metals Ireland has had on its employees, the local economy and the medical device sector in Ireland.

Fort Wayne Metals Ireland Limited (FWMI) was established in Castlebar in 2002 as a cost-effective manufacturing location for the supply of stainless-steel products into the European medical device industry. Over the last 20 years it has become a specialised manufacturing company offering technical expertise and specialised wire-based solutions to customers. Its’ wire products are used mainly in guidewires and delivery systems, retrieval baskets, stents, occluders, catheter reinforcement and surgical suture needles. With a current workforce of 150 employees, FWMI’s sales have grown by 17% CAGR since commencement in 2002.

Fort Wayne Metals is a private company headquartered in Indiana, USA a workforce of 1,400 employees globally.

Chairman & CEO of Fort Wayne Metals Scott Glaze said: “Our facility here in Castlebar, is our only manufacturing site outside the USA. The project has been a tremendous success. Our business here continues to grow from strength to strength and we are confident the operations here will continue to expand, as we embrace new technologies.”

Michael O’Donnell, managing director Fort Wayne metals Ireland, said: “When I first went to Fort Wayne Metals in the USA, back in 2001, I was immediately struck by the company’s commitment to innovation, and the pride and the passion of the employees for their work and the products that they produced. Our staff here in Ireland really just embraced this same culture and made it their own.”