For the purpose of managing diabetes, the multinational US corporation Dexcom develops continuous glucose monitoring technology.

Automatic glucose readings are supplied to the patient's smart device by the G7 product.

Situated on the town's IDA landbank, the 40,000 square metre building will serve as Dexcom's first manufacturing site in Europe.

There will be 500 employees in construction in addition to the 1,000 that will be added in the upcoming years.

A four-story building with an outdoor planted "Wild Plaza" and a 2.1-kilometer nature trail, as well as new access roads and pedestrian sidewalks, are among the proposals for the €300 million investment over the following five years.

Tens of millions of glucose monitors can be produced annually at the Athenry facility, where hiring is now underway for technician and highly skilled graduate positions.

Executive Vice President of Global Operations at Dexcom is Barry Regan.

When he unveiled the initiative in Athenry last May, he gave an explanation of why the west of Ireland was the best location.

"The third-level institutions in Galway, Sligo, Athlone, and Limerick offer a plethora of readily available talent." And of course the actual place. With the infrastructure that the IDA has built and the two new roads that are only a 30-minute drive away from the site, we have access to over 650,000 people who are potential employees. This was highly alluring and truly checked all the boxes for Dexcom. The site is simply amazing.

"We're going to need engineers, mechanical engineers, electronic engineers, micrbiologists, scientists," he stated. "And all of the support functions - finance, supply chain, procurement."

The investment is regarded as a major endorsement of Ireland's flourishing medical equipment sector.

With a statement that said, "When you see a project of this scale, it's a very clear signal to the sector globally that the medtech sector in Ireland is a really good place to invest in international business," Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney welcomed the news. This is not only a great news story for Galway, the West of Ireland, and all of Ireland, but it also sends a powerful message about Ireland's standing as a hub for worldwide commerce."

The afternoon's sod-turning event was attended by Minister Coveney and Dara Calleary, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital, and Company Regulation.