From foundations and steelwork to new machinery and an integrated manufacturing environment: the progress behind Croom Medical’s 38,000 sq ft Advanced Centre of Orthopaedic Technologies.
Project update | 31 October 2026 | Croom, Co. Limerick, Ireland.
ACOT is taking shape through a sequence of investments in the building, production equipment, utilities and the people who will operate it. Our project videos have followed that journey from groundworks to an enclosed facility, with internal services and fit-out progressing and the first new production asset on site.
The purpose is practical: to bring more of the orthopaedic manufacturing route together, connect development with production, and give customers greater control as programmes move from prototypes into repeat manufacture. Below, we bring the project updates together and explain the capability behind the investment.
Construction progress and videos | Equipment investment | Inside the facility | What it means for customers
The linked project videos show construction progress at the stage identified.
The build, stage by stage
Each update captures a different work package. The early stages established the structure; later work is turning that space into a serviced manufacturing environment.
Weeks 3 to 8: foundations and structural steel
By Week 3, strip foundations were approximately halfway complete, with excavation and levelling advancing across the site. Steelwork was close to 75% complete at Week 6 and reached 100% at Week 8. Completing the frame established the building’s full footprint and allowed enclosure works to follow.
Watch Week 3: groundworks and foundations
Watch Week 6: the steel frame takes shape
Watch Week 8: structural steel complete
Weeks 14 to 17: roof, internal spaces and floors
The Week 14 update recorded the completed roof cladding, internal wall structures, office floors and stairs. By Week 17, rear and side cladding was around halfway complete, front-elevation glazing was arriving and internal floor works were underway. The project was moving from an open structure into defined production and support areas.
Watch Week 14: roof and internal structure
Watch Week 17: cladding, glazing and floor works
Week 24: the first production asset arrives
A DMG MORI NTX 1000 arrived from Japan, marking the first new production asset for ACOT. Glazing and architectural cladding were also in place. It was a visible shift in the project: equipment was beginning to arrive alongside the building works, ahead of installation and commissioning.
Watch Week 24: DMG MORI NTX 1000 arrival
Week 28: inside the manufacturing environment
With the envelope in place, attention moved to mechanical and electrical services, utilities, production infrastructure and phased equipment installation. The walkthrough shows the internal scale of the building, overhead services and the relationship between manufacturing space and staff facilities.
Watch Week 28: internal fit-out and operational readiness
Week 31: an enclosed factory and wider community works
The building was enclosed, with internal mechanical, electrical and fit-out work continuing. The aerial footage also recorded the sporting infrastructure being developed beside and beyond the factory, showing how the industrial investment connects with the wider town.
Watch Week 31: ACOT and community progress
Equipment investment: what is here and what comes next
The investment programme covers the manufacturing sequence around the component: producing it, machining critical features, controlling its material condition and verifying the result. These additions are at different stages of delivery, installation and qualification.
DMG MORI NTX 1000: additional mill-turn capability
The arrival documented in Week 24 adds a new mill-turn platform to the ACOT programme. Combining turning and milling operations supports the manufacture of complex components with fewer transfers between machines. The value lies in controlling feature relationships and reducing repeated handling as a part moves through its machining route. Arrival on site is followed by installation, commissioning and programme-specific process approval.
3D Systems DMP Flex 350 Dual: expanding additive capacity
Two additional DMP Flex 350 Dual machines form part of the approved equipment investment programme. Their role is to extend metal additive manufacturing capacity for new orthopaedic work. That capacity must be matched by powder handling, heat treatment, machining, cleaning and inspection, so ACOT’s development considers the complete production route alongside the printers.
Specnow vacuum furnace: strengthening downstream processing
The Specnow vacuum furnace is part of the next installation and qualification phase. Developing in-house vacuum heat-treatment capability brings an important downstream operation closer to additive manufacturing and engineering. Usable production capability depends on furnace qualification, process development and the requirements of each component and customer.
Hermle and Starrag/Bumotec: the next machining phase
The expansion programme also includes additional Hermle five-axis and Starrag/Bumotec machining capacity. These investments support complex geometries and the precision machining required after additive manufacture or from solid material. They sit within the phased equipment programme; delivery, installation and process release are separate milestones.
ZEISS CONTURA: inspection investment already in place
Across the wider Croom Medical site, a ZEISS CONTURA 7/7/6 coordinate measuring machine has been installed and verified to support new product introduction. Its 700 × 700 × 600 mm measuring volume, RDS articulating probe system and VAST XXT tactile scanning expand our inspection resources alongside Hexagon and Mitutoyo platforms. Investing in measurement alongside manufacturing helps engineering and quality teams establish how new components will be verified as programmes scale.
Read the ZEISS installation update
The infrastructure that makes the equipment useful
A new machine needs a suitable operating environment and supporting services. The fit-out programme includes electrical distribution, production utilities, lighting and environmental systems, coordinated with the equipment layout and installation sequence.
The production floor is planned to have air conditioning, heat-recovery ventilation, supply and return air distribution, destratification fans and centralised controls. These systems are intended to support a more stable manufacturing environment and staff comfort. Their performance will be established through commissioning.
ACOT’s wider process scope includes additive manufacturing, precision CNC and mill-turn machining, sliding-head turning, heat treatment, electropolishing, anodising, passivation, finishing, digital inspection and clean-and-pack operations. Bringing these processes closer together is intended to reduce external handoffs and make production planning, quality control and development work easier to coordinate.
What this means for orthopaedic customers
For an OEM introducing or transferring a product, floor space alone does not deliver a finished component. The manufacturing route must connect material, equipment, tooling, finishing, inspection and documented process requirements.
- More integrated routes: developing additional in-house processes gives engineering teams more control over how a component moves between operations.
- Capacity across the sequence: investing in downstream processing and inspection alongside machining and printing helps address constraints beyond the first manufacturing step.
- Closer links between development and production: research, process development and manufacturing teams can work together on the practical requirements of repeatable manufacture.
- A phased route into production: each manufacturing route progresses through installation, commissioning and the applicable qualification and customer-approval requirements.
The objective is additional capacity, fewer transfers and more predictable programme delivery. Availability is agreed against the specific process and product requirements; completion of the building does not itself release every process for production.
Investing in people and the place around us
The planned staff facilities include a canteen, offices, meeting and boardroom spaces, a gym, locker and changing rooms, showers and bathrooms. They support the people who will develop, operate and maintain the new capability, and help Croom Medical attract and retain skills in engineering, manufacturing, quality and advanced technologies.
Alongside the factory, the Week 31 update documented the renewal of Croom United’s senior grass pitch and training area. Work included regrading, drainage, sand-capping and preparation for seeding. The wider community programme also includes an all-weather pitch. These projects extend the benefits of growth into local sport and community facilities.
Enterprise Ireland supports the ACOT growth programme. We also thank our employees, construction and engineering partners, and the local community as the project moves through fit-out, equipment installation and commissioning.
Talk to Croom Medical about your next manufacturing programme.
