Chanelle Group is to create 350 jobs at its headquarters in Loughrea, County Galway, with an €86m investment.

The positions at the Irish-owned company, which manufactures pharmaceutical products, will be created over the next five years.

The roles were announced as the group today opened a new €10m manufacturing plant in Loughrea.  The 30,000 sq. ft. facility is Europe’s first dedicated Spot On manufacturing plant built to European and US quality standards.

Spot On is a topical treatment used globally to protect dogs and cats against harmful parasites.

Chanelle also announced details of the next phase of its capital investment programme, which will see construction commence in 2019 on a new 25,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility for liquid and paste medicinal products for the US market.

“Since 2016 we have invested over €55m and created 175 new jobs in our global headquarters in Loughrea,” Michael Burke, owner and MD of Chanelle, said.

“Over the next five years we will increase the pace of our investment programme, investing €86m our operations and creating 350 new jobs, bringing total employment to over 850 people.”

Tánaiste Simon Coveney, who opened the new facility, said that Chanelle’s pioneering approach to product innovation “has been a key factor in the company’s substantial growth in recent years”.

“With over 96 products in its R&D pipeline, Chanelle is well positioned to continue to expand into new markets.”

“The investment announced today is the largest by owner Michael Burke in the history of the company and through Enterprise Ireland, the Government is pleased to support Michael as he grows Chanelle Group and creates valuable employment here in Loughrea,” Minister Coveney said.

Founded in 1985 Chanelle holds over 1900 product licences for human health products worldwide. It has over 2000 animal health licenses registered in the EU – the largest number of registered veterinary licenses of any company in the EU, with 500 licences outside EU.

The group is the largest Irish-owned manufacturer of generic pharmaceutical products in Ireland employing over 500 people at present.

This post originally appeared on Independent.ie