Newbridge Oral-B plant expands

Kildare County Council has given the OK for the expansion of the Braun Oral-B plant in Newbridge.

The Leinster Leader reported that this expansion will enable the transfer of 120 jobs from Braun’s Carlow plant and allow a new storage building will be constructed alongside other refurbishments.

Braun, which is a global manufacturer of dental floss and toothbrushes, currently employs 350 workers in Newbridge and it is now taking on a further 120 people from Carlow. It was announced that Carlow would close down last June leaving 140 people out of work. 

It has been suggested that the worker transfers will begin around the end of the year and all the jobs should apparently be moved by next summer.

The Newbridge plant had appeared to be on a downturn just two years ago but is now brushing the credit crunch aside after experiencing an upsurge. Its output and sales are actually expanding in the current economic climate.

 

Braun, traditionally known for its electric shavers, established its plant in Carlow in 1974 and thus became one of the first major foreign investors in Ireland. At one stage this factory had more than 1,500 workers.

However, it was expected that the Carlow site would close after Braun announced it would be reviewing its operations in Ireland in 2008. 

The company made a statement when the Carlow closure was announced, saying decreased consumer demand had led to the decision to phase out the manufacturing the gas-powered cordless curling tongs arm of the business.

It is now being suggested that the Newbridge plant might now be expanding into the manufacturing of other products like electric toothbrush refills and cleaning products for electric razors.

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