Harmac accelerates masks and ventilation manufacturing

Harmac Medical Products (Harmac) has announced a major investment in its facility at Castlerea, as it accelerates the manufacturing of surgical masks and non-invasive ventilation products, creating 60 new roles. This project is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.

The Harmac facility in Castlerea, Co Roscommon performs functions such as design for reliability and manufacturability (DRM), prototyping, automation, custom assembly operations, cleanroom injection moulding, product re-engineering and R&D functions.

This expansion will allow Harmac to manufacture substantial volumes of surgical masks for its Multinational client, which has international and domestic customers. Harmac will also ramp up its manufacturing of non-invasive ventilation devices for Intersurgical Respiratory Systems, for which it produces its StarMed respiratory hoods, increasing its output to meet unprecedented rising global demand.

President and CEO John F. Somers said: "All of us at Harmac are very proud of what we’ve accomplished during this challenging year by onboarding and supporting these new customers and their products in record time. We take great satisfaction in knowing that our employees are protected by masks made by our team members – and that our team members are helping people around the world by manufacturing products that will help keep COVID-19 patients alive.”

Harmac employs over 300 people in Castlerea, making it among Roscommon’s largest employers. The company is seeking employees in the areas of engineering, quality and manufacturing.

Tánaiste and minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment Leo Varadkar TD said: "This is great news from one of Roscommon’s biggest employers. These 60 new jobs, will greatly accelerate the company’s response to the pandemic, significantly increasing production of masks and ventilation products. I wish you the very best of luck with this expansion, which will help save lives across the world, and I thank Harmac for their continued commitment to Ireland."