Ballytivnan-based company awarded ISO 55001 mark to reflect asset management capabilities
AbbVie, the global biopharmaceutical company with a significant presence in Sligo, has become one of the first Irish businesses to receive an ISO 55001 certification for its asset management capabilities.
The milestone was achieved by AbbVie’s Ballytivnan plant and brings their ISO accreditation tally to five since the company’s formation in 2013.
ISO 55001 is a framework designed to help organisations pro-actively manage the lifecycle of their fixed assets. It ensures that buildings, IT equipment, and machinery, for example, are used from purchase through to decommission in a sustainable fashion.
AbbVie Ballytivnan Site Director, Joe Kumor said: “Being one of the first companies in Ireland to achieve ISO 55001 certification is an incredible accomplishment for the site and a credit to the hard work, determination and attention to detail of our local workforce here in Sligo. Certification provides international validation of the Ballytivnan site’s performance goals and highlights our robust asset management processes and commitment to sustainability.”
Michael Brophy, CEO of Certification Europe, who presented the award at a recent event in Sligo said: “ISO 55001 provides a framework for asset management systems that help businesses become more proactive managing their assets and driving sustainability. This has been a framework we have been eager to roll out to our clients for some time. I am delighted to see that AbbVie have become the first of our clients to implement ISO 55001 standard. ISO 55001 is the ideal tool for a business to assure all stakeholders that targets and objectives are being met and to ensure stability and growth within the organisation.”
AbbVie Ballytivnan currently produces drug delivery devices, including a pen-style injector that is used by patients around the world who use the company’s treatment indicated for a range of immune-related illnesses including rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease.
The site is also the company’s global ‘combination devices centre of excellence’ for medical device manufacture, precision engineering, plastics moulding and metrology (the theoretical and practical aspects of measurement).