Mergon Group, the Irish plastics molding company, has celebrated the launch of the Mergon Innovation Centre (MiCentre), officially opened by Mary Mitchell O'Connor, Irish government minister for jobs, enterprise and innovation.
The MiCentre, at the firm's headquarters in Castlepollard, Ireland, will host Mergon's innovation hub, pioneering research and development initiatives including developing high performance battery cooling circuits for electric vehicles; the application of factory 4.0 technologies for improved manufacturing performance and microfluidic medical diagnostic design and development.
Officially opening the new MiCentre, minister Mary Mitchell O'Connor said: “Not only does [MiCentre] demonstrate Mergon's commitment to research and innovation, it also shows their ambition and determination to be leaders in this highly competitive and innovative industry."
The center will also host Mergon's Lightweight Lab. The lab will be dedicated to innovations to optimize weight reduction of automotive components. In addition, the MiCentre also houses Mergon's expanding capabilities in additive manufacturing and 3-D printing.
Speaking at the launch Mergon CEO Pat Beirne, said: “This major step forward for Mergon further enables development of world class automation incorporating the latest in vision system, leak detection and error proofing technologies to ensure Mergon customers receive zero defects in their products.”
The center will help prove production lines for the company's growing business in Ireland, the U.S. and the Czech Republic.