Pharma company makes huge investment with purchase of old Limerick factory
Askeaton to get big boost as buyer found for old Nestle Wyeth factory
A PHARMACEUTICAL firm has agreed to purchase a vast factory site in Limerick in what is a set to be a multi-million euro investment.
Nestle has announced it has reached a deal to sell its former Wyeth Nutritionals manufacturing site in Askeaton to Pfanstiehl, Inc.
While the sale price has not been disclosed, it hit the market at the start of last year for €22m.
In 2023, Askeaton was rocked by the news that Nestle was to leave the area, as it shifted the manufacture of infant milk formula to China and Switzerland.
It also closed down a research facility it had in a town, in a move which led to north of 500 job losses.
Now, the facility looks likely to get a new lease of life, with pharmaceutical firm Pfanstiehl, founded in 1919 and headquartered in Waukegan, Illinois in the USA purchasing the vast site.
The firm is a global leader in developing, manufacturing and supplying high purity injectable excipients and bioprocessing components for the global biopharmaceutical and life science industries.
It’s also a critical supply partner for the world’s biopharmaceutical leaders in protein/antibody drugs, vaccines, plus cell and gene therapy.
The final workers left the former Wyeth factory in March this year.
Since the 2023 announcement, Nestle says it has implemented a support programme for employees impacted by the closure.
This included a dedicated outplacement support hub, providing career guidance, job-search assistance, and access to upskilling and training opportunities. The programme also offered financial, pension, and retirement planning supports to assist employees in their transition to new roles.
The firm added it worked actively to identify a new owner for the site that could sustain its long-standing manufacturing heritage. The agreement with Pfanstiehl represents the successful outcome of this process, enabling continued industrial use of the facility.
Nestlé has made a number of community contributions, including funding an astro turf pitch for the local GAA club, roof repairs for Askeaton Community Hall, and a sensory playground for Scoil Naomh Mhuire Eas Geitine.