
Expansion of Irish firm which produces medical balloons brings job opportunities
AN Irish medtech firm which specialises in manufacturing medical device balloons has expanded its offering.
Hoop Medical has launched a new state-of-the-art facility in Wexford which provides a 10,000-square-foot manufacturing space at Ardcavan Business Park.
The expansion more than triples the firm's former footprint and creates new job opportunities for the local community.
'We are delighted to have reached this milestone in our journey, particularly for our customers and staff,' Hoop's CEO Clive Hayes said.
'It is just over five years since Hoop Medical was established and since then the company has grown to a team of 40 people with a customer base across Ireland, Europe, the US, South America, Asia, and the Middle East.'
He added: 'This new facility enables Hoop to meet the demand of existing projects as they mature and also allows us to continue growing our customer base internationally'.
L-r Barry O'Dowd, (Hoop) Wexford Mayor Catherine Walsh, Jennifer Melia (Enterprise Ireland), George Lawlor TD, Teddy Mudge (Hoop MD), Clive Hayes (Hoop CEO), Conor Meyler (Hoop)
The firm partners with a range of companies, from innovative startups to large international organisations, to develop solutions and balloon technologies for minimally invasive medical procedures.
'Hoop's priority is to contribute to our customers' success,' Mr Hayes said.
'Our unwavering commitment to our customers over the last five years has not only solidified our relationships but also yielded remarkable results, unlocking substantial opportunities for Hoop Medical.'
He added: 'This achievement is a testament to our outstanding workforce of talented, experienced and quality focused teams.
'By integrating our customer-focused philosophy with the capabilities of our team, we've fostered growth opportunities that culminated in the need for this new purpose-built facility.'
Welcoming the opening of the new facility, Ireland's Minister for Enterprise, Peter Burke said it was firms like Hoop that 'lead the way on this growth in our regions'.
'Hoop Medical is achieving rapid growth due to incredible innovation behind its product offering, and the investment it has made in its business and the region," he said.
'[Their expansion] is fantastic news for Wexford, for the Southeast, and for the Life Sciences sector,' Minister Burke added.
'The Government looks forward to supporting Hoop Medical on their growth journey into the future.'
See More: Hoop Medical, Medtech, Wexford

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Ballymore chief Sean Mulryan outlines plan to transform Athlone into green '15-minute city'
The founder of property firm Ballymore Sean Mulryan has proposed a plan to develop Athlone into a green '15-minute city' with a population of 100,000 in the next 15 years. Mr Mulryan has formed a steering group to look into the plan, which would see the TUS Athlone campus cater for up to 25,000 students as a centre of excellence in green technology and to construct 20,000 zero carbon homes in its first phases. It envisions road networks tailored for electric driverless buses, with 90% of Athlone's energy resources coming from renewable sources. "Our vision could drive genuine balanced distribution of the impending population growth in Ireland and offer a blueprint for sustainable, education-led, employment-driven, and environmentally focused urban development nationwide," said the Ballymore chair and chief executive, who is from Roscommon. 'We are sharing that vision now with wider Irish society, and we will do all we can to help it become a reality. But this plan needs to be driven from the top by government – by this administration and by the successor governments that take office in the years ahead – if it is to come to pass.' The new steering group for the plan sees Mr Mulryan joined by former chair of the Revenue Commissioners and chair of the governing body of Technological University of the Shannon, Josephine Feehily; Goldman Sachs private equity co-head and chair Adrian Jones, CAlchelyst chief Joan Kehoe, former DCU president Prof. Brian MacCraith,Iirhs Rail chief Jim Meade, and Ballymore deputy managing director Linda Mulryan-Condron, who is Mr Mulryan's daughter. Ballymore Group was established in 1982 by Mr Mulryan and has built 35,000 houses across Ireland, the UK, and Europe.

Business Post
5 hours ago
- Business Post
Evan Ferguson's agent on building a €5m academy — and why ‘there's a better return than Bitcoin' on some players
Business Post subscribers can read: • Why David Berber is planning to invest €5m in Irish football • How he spots players and negotiates big money deals for them • Why one of Ireland's best connected agents says 'we don't love football'

The Journal
5 hours ago
- The Journal
Cost of milk and beef sees Irish farm produce prices rise faster than anywhere in EU
IRELAND RECORDED THE sharpest rate of increase in agricultural produce prices in the EU in the first quarter of this year, the bloc's statistical agency Eurostat has said. Irish agricultural prices were up an eye-watering 19.3% compared with the same period of 2024. The average increase across the EU was just 2.6%. With prices in Irish supermarkets for beef, milk and butter all rising fast – 2 litres of milk, for example, was up 27c in a year in May – it's another example of the pressure on Irish consumers. Eurostat data released earlier this week showed Ireland is the second most expensive country in the EU, after Denmark, taking into account a wide array of household costs including housing, transport, energy and clothing, as well as food. Ireland also topped the table as the most expensive country in which to drink or smoke. Agricultural price rises: that's Ireland with the big blue bar there on the far left. Eurostat Eurostat Why are prices rising? So why are farm-produced foods – staples of our grocery baskets and the cornerstone of the food industry – increasing in price so rapidly? Agricultural economists say there are a few factors at play. The rise in milk prices across the EU – 12.6% on average – will skew Ireland's figure upwards, given the dairy sector's centrality to the total value of the agriculture sector in Ireland. Julian Worley, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Galway, pointed out that Ireland also doesn't produce many items in the categories where prices fell – olive oil for example. Across Europe, potato prices also fell, while prices for eggs and cereals rose. Worley added that prices are probably being driven up by chaos in world markets, including the uncertainty caused by US trade war threats and tariffs. Most Irish dairy is exported. Last year was also a hard year for production weather-wise, and the resulting increase in costs is reflected in prices. Advertisement Context for Irish price rises Tadhg Buckley, chief economist at the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA), said the recent increase in Irish food prices needs to be considered in a wider context: over a longer-term horizon such as the past 20 years, food price growth has significantly lagged general inflation. We have become accustomed to relatively cheap food. Buckley added that while it's true that Irish agricultural prices have increased faster than in the rest of the EU, in absolute terms, farm-gate milk prices remain slightly below the EU average. Farm-gate prices are what farmers receive. Supply and demand are also at play. There was a reduction of over 200,000 in the number of cows in Ireland in the year to December 2024, with the decrease more pronounced in beef herds. At the same time, a wider shortage of supply across the UK – the market for around half of Ireland's beef – and Europe has driven up prices. Buckley added that price inflation may have slowed since the first-quarter period Eurostat's figures covered, with farm gate prices for both beef and dairy down slightly in April and May. How are consumers responding? Damian O'Reilly, a lecturer in retail management at TU Dublin, said data from market research firm Kantar shows Irish consumers are changing their shopping habits in response to higher prices, in particular by becoming more responsive to deals and offers. 'Let's say steaks are on offer, [consumers] buy today and maybe put them in the freezer,' O'Reilly said. 'People are shopping more discriminately than they were before. They are more aware of the money they're spending. They're not buying as much on impulse as they were.' He added that this is one of the reasons supermarkets are price matching to their competitors and proclaiming these price matches to customers with in-store labels and marketing. Are farmers benefitting from higher prices? 'I think farmers are seeing a benefit,' Worley said. 'But it is coming on the back of higher production costs for several years that were squeezing their margins, as well as a few bad production years when costs were higher.' 'So, it's a bit of catching back up or catching a breath, rather than a true benefit.' Buckley, of the IFA, agreed that while the price increases will help dairy and beef farmers, for the latter in particular, it's an increase from a low base. Next week, agricultural research agency Teagasc will publish its latest data on farmers' incomes, for 2024. Buckley expects the data to show an improvement, but will still show that the average farmer is not making that much. The most recent Teagasc data, for 2023, showed the average dairy farm income was €49,000, while for sheep it was less than €12,000 and for suckler beef just €7,400. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal