New healthcare centre of excellence announced for Gwynedd in multi-million-pound investment

A new healthcare centre of excellence is set to be created in Llanberis, bringing with it a multi-million-pound investment in research and development and securing long-term jobs.

The announcement comes as German medical device company Siemens Healthineers celebrates 30 years of being based in the village in Llanberis.

The firm is planning to consolidate its global operations for the manufacture of Immulite blood analysis technology, used worldwide to aid the diagnosis of medical conditions, at the site.

The investment will transform the branch into an R&D facility for laboratory diagnostics, enabling the development of enhanced diagnostic precision products for use in optimising patient care.

The significant investment by the company and the Welsh Government will secure hundreds of jobs, including the creation of close to 100 new ones, with an average salary said to be significantly above the local area average.

The project will also ensure that the site has a future beyond 2030. The majority of employees are reported as living within ten miles of the Llanberis site.

Current employees include former apprentices who were offered full-time jobs, and various employees are currently enrolled in university.

The new R&D facility will also see partnerships reinforced with Wales’ higher education institutions, including Bangor University, Swansea University and Cardiff University.

Siemens Healthineers has had a presence in Llanberis since 1992 and owns the 36-acre site.

The Welsh Government’s Minister for Economy, Vaughan Gething, said: “I’m delighted to announce this significant investment, with Siemens Healthineers, in a new centre of excellence in research and development in Llanberis.

“Thanks to Welsh Government support, we have secured and created hundreds of high-quality jobs for Gwynedd.

“Siemens Healthineers Llanberis is a strategically important employer for the whole of the north and this investment is a huge vote of confidence in the Welsh economy.

“The economic contract we have signed with Siemens Healthineers secures the current facility’s future, establishes an innovative research and development facility, promises fair work and a healthy and inclusive working environment for decades to come.”

The vice president and managing director of Siemens Healthineers Llanberis, Professor Fraser Logue, said: “Laboratories and clinics in over 50 countries around the globe are reliant on the Immulite reagents we manufacture at Llanberis, covering over 100 disease states and 570 allergy tests.

“The investment from the Welsh Government is testament to the critical work our existing 470-strong workforce does and will enable us to move forward with our planned investment in the site.

“Close to 100 highly skilled jobs will be created as we seek to realise our shared ambition of transforming Siemens Healthineers Llanberis into a worldwide centre of excellence for laboratory diagnostics manufacturing and research and development.”