Phibro Animal Health Corp. announced July 5 plans to establish a biotech facility producing a range of innovative animal health vaccines at the IDA Ireland Finisklin Business Park in Sligo, Ireland, creating up to 150 jobs over five years.

The project is supported by the Irish government through IDA Ireland, the announcement said.

Phibro develops, manufactures and markets a broad line of animal health and nutrition products for poultry, swine, cattle, dairy and aquaculture customers around the globe. The company had $764 million in annual sales in more than 65 countries during its most recent fiscal year and employs more than 1,400 people globally. Phibro is a publicly traded company headquartered in Teaneck, N.J.

The Sligo plant will be the company’s first biologicals manufacturing location in Europe and will allow Phibro to expand its presence in Europe, the company said.

The new manufacturing facility will initially focus on producing Phibro’s line of vaccines for the treatment of a range of poultry diseases for sales globally. In the future, Phibro said it expects to expand production to include vaccines for livestock and aquaculture.

In making the announcement in Sligo, Ireland Minister for Agriculture, Food & the Marine Michael Creed TD, said, “This significant investment by Phibro is a great vote of confidence in Sligo and will offer even more opportunities for local residents and communities to grow and thrive. It further strengthens Ireland’s life sciences capability in the northwest and builds on a series of new IDA projects announced for Sligo and elsewhere in the region over recent times.”

Phibro chairman, president and chief executive officer Jack Bendheim said, “The creation of Phibro Ireland marks an important milestone in our development as a leading global player in the animal health biological market. The winning combination of Phibro’s expertise in the development and manufacture of biological products, the driven and experienced workforce available in the Sligo area and the strong support of the IDA makes us very excited about the potential of the Sligo facility.”

Phibro said the new roles at the facility will include management, quality analysis, quality control, regulatory, engineering, operators and maintenance staff.

While not immediately material to Phibro’s business, the company believes Sligo-produced products will contribute to financial results meaningfully over the next three to five years.