Baxter boost

“The employment created by Baxter kept the local economy afloat in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s”

SPEAKER'S CORNER
MICHAEL DUFFY

THERE was a palpable sense of excitement in the Baxter Pharmaceuticals Plant last Friday afternoon as the large number of staff waited for the arrival of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister, Micheál Martin.
The rumour mill was indeed in overdrive all morning in Baxter after news of the impending announcement was ‘leaked’ to a local newspaper. A sum of €75 million was the rumoured investment but no one was taking anything for granted until the Minister and Baxter’s President and CEO, Bob Parkinson, had confirmed same.
First off, Pat Gallagher, General Manager of the Baxter Manufacturing in Ireland, made it clear to the staff that the ‘leak’ had not come from Baxter and that the intention was always to inform staff first of the €75 million investment.
Once confirmed by the Minister and Mr Parkinson, there was a sustained round of applause among the 300 or so workers seated in the auditorium. In today’s hugely-competitive market place, real fears did exist that Baxter, who have facilities in Poland, may at some stage move their manufacturing base to the perceived cheaper labour market in eastern Europe.
But now, and for the foreseeable future, it appears that Baxter is in Castlebar to stay and that is of huge significance to the local economy.
“One of the major global healthcare companies have decided to make this investment here, that’s a vote of confidence in the people here and without question laying the foundations for a very successful future.”
Minister Martin’s words will give assurance to the many families in the Castlebar hinterland, families that have been brought up on wages earned from the Baxter facility.
The company has been an integral part of the economic and social development of the county town since 1972 and it is fair to say that while Castlebar has grown at an unbelievable rate over the last decade, the employment created by Baxter kept the local economy afloat in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
The landscape has now undoubtedly changed and the reality is that Ireland is no longer at the head of the queue when it comes to manufacturing viability. Other parts of the world can now attract the big multi-nationals because of cheaper labour and materials.
We have essentially moved on and the trend is most definitely now toward more specialised industry, as emphasised by the Minister on Friday.
“We are still trying to create new manufacturing jobs right across the country but we also have to move to consolidate what we have. We have now 25,000 people working in the medical devices industry, ten years ago we would have been nowhere near that figure. Investment in science and technology research is critical to creating new jobs and research and development will also anchor existing jobs.”
So what we can essentially take from the Minister’s words is that Baxter is anchored to Castlebar for the foreseeable future and that is why last Friday’s announcement is big news. True, no new jobs have been created and as a result there has been some fodder for those seeking to promote negativity but the upskilling of existing staff will create more opportunity for those who have been loyal to the company down through the years.
Minister Martin also assured the media on Friday that Castlebar’s IDA site is not ‘lying idle’ and is being actively promoted by the IDA at every opportunity.
For now, the future of Baxter looks secure in Castlebar and if the demeanour of CEO Bob Parkinson is anything to go by, then no one should have ever doubted that in the first place. He seemed to take great pride in announcing the investment and, in his best Chicago accent, told the gathering that over 8,000 people have worked on Baxter’s sites in Mayo over the last 35 years. That number looks sure to continuing growing into the future.