From the factory: How to break ground on a new facility during Brexit

On the back of opening a new facility in Dundalk, Vincent Dunne, CEO of The Wasdell Group explains some of the challenges of developing a facility in the midst of Brexit and new technologies.

What are some of the biggest challenges when opening a new production site?

A new facility build is always a complex process, but we faced different challenges with our site in Dundalk, Ireland when it came to the scale and speed of delivery. From breaking the soil in September 2018, to achieving GMP approval and commencing operations by early July 2019, we were ambitious with our timeline. Ensuring we kept to our plan, we adopted an accelerated program management approach running several aspects of the build in parallel. We also adopted a process to enable rapid decision-making while maintaining effective communications between all contractors and stakeholders; while these were challenging in practice, I also believe they became our biggest strengths for the project.

How does the site support preparations for Brexit?

Prior to opening the new site in Ireland, we were offering fully outsourced supply chain and EU launch capabilities across our group from our UK bases, so the new facility has future-proofed our operations in the event of a hard Brexit. By creating a foothold in Ireland, we can continue to carry out EU release testing for the drug products we manufacture, package and distribute and ensure continuous supply for our customers regardless of the outcome of Brexit negotiations. 

What advice would you give to other companies starting this type of project?

Collaboration was at the core of overcoming any difficulties we faced during the build. At times we would have up to 75 contractor companies all working cohesively around each other, which required careful planning and communication. Breaking down the silos between contractors from the outset is something we’d strongly advise. If you can facilitate an environment that drives all involved towards a common goal, you’ll enable a collaborative team that can navigate issues together effectively. 

Is Wasdell ready for the emergence of industry 4.0 or digital technologies within manufacturing?

We have always been known to explore new technologies and innovative solutions ahead of the industry, and even our new facility has been built with Industry 4.0 in mind. In addition to integrating our systems with our key customers to allow full visibility, our latest packing lines have various advanced capabilities including full diagnostic functionality that can be accessed remotely. We are also looking at emerging technologies such as blockchain more closely to determine how it can aid the sharing of data across the supply chain, particularly for clinical trials.

What benefits does the site’s location in Dundalk, Ireland bring? 

Being so close to the international airports of Dublin and Belfast, we are able to supply key hubs in mainland Europe within hours. We are also in the heart of the incredible talent pool Ireland has to offer and we are really proud of the team we have built at the facility - they boast hundreds of years’ experience between them and come from a diverse range of backgrounds, from the HPRA to large pharma companies.

Dundalk and the M1 corridor has become a new pharma hub as many more well-established companies from across the globe are beginning to create a foothold in the region. It’s fantastic to be neighbours with such companies and we are really excited about what the future holds for the Irish pharmaceutical industry.