Galway-based Freudenberg Medical Irish was the main winner at the Irish Medtech Awards 2024, which are held as part of Medtech Rising, in Galway last week.
Dr Eoghan Ó Faoláin, Irish Medtech Director, named as Medtech Company of the Year Freudenberg Medical, a contract manufacturer of choice, employing over 1,000 people in Ireland with sites in Leitrim and Galway, with 350 new jobs announced over the past 14 months.
“Freudenberg Medical specialises in electrophysiology devices, which measure the heart’s electrical activity. These devices are used every two minutes in life changing treatment, and one in four ablation procedures, for irregular heartbeats, globally are supported by them. Not only are they serving patients worldwide, Freudenberg Medical is transforming healthcare by reducing training time for new operators by 75% through the deployment of augmented/virtual reality technology and “gamified” training” he said.
Barry Regan, Vice President and General Manager of Freudenberg Medical’s Co. Leitrim facilitysaid this award celebrates the innovative mindset of the teams at Freudenberg Medical, from successful customer collaborations to deliver transformative medical devices to our investments in smart manufacturing, VR training, and AI-powered planning tools.
“Our teams are passionate about their responsibility to deliver high-quality products that improve patient care, and this recognition is a testament to their dedication.”
Eoghan added, “As a leader in medtech employment in Europe, the Best Talent Strategy in Medtech Award is a particularly competitive category. Johnson & Johnson MedTech stood out this year. The Cork site which is known for manufacturing joint replacement products, was established in 1997, and employs 2,300 people. Standout initiatives include, the STEM Academy Early in Career Program which has already impacted over 60,000 students, its women in STEM and manufacturing initiative (WiSTEM2D ), as well as its participation in Ibec’s manufacturing engineering apprenticeship program (level 8 ).”
“As an industry devoted to improving lives, another vital award to help the industry achieve its goals is the Sustainable Medtech Company of the Year Award, which was won by Stryker. Each of Stryker’s sites in Ireland have an established Stryker Environmental Alliance (SEA ) chapter to reduce energy and carbon emissions while increasing awareness of its environmental impact with events for Annual Earth Day and World Bee Day, along with more ambitious projects like their Wind Turbine Development Plan.
Ciara Finlay, Senior Executive, Irish Medtech told the event that Medtech improves lives through their use for the prevention, diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of conditions with more than 500,000 different types of products from glasses to surgical robots.
The Best Diversity and Representation Company Initiative Award recognises the importance of better reflecting the people the sector serves. Stryker won thanks to its dedication to its approach for maximizing the power of diverse backgrounds, talents, and perspectives through both employee engagement and community outreach. Stryker Ireland has accelerating its diversity journey by holding leaders accountable, developing people and processes, attracting diverse talent, and advancing employee resource groups.
John Nugent, Department Manager, Medical Technologies and Healthcare Services, IDA Ireland said, “A unique strength of Ireland’s medtech ecosystem is our ability to collaborate. . This partnership includes investment in the University’s Medtech infrastructure, encompassing clinical trials resources, campus-wide STEM outreach programs that promote diversity, and support for research through early-stage seed funding for joint projects.”
