page_title: Ballinasloe
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Ballinasloe / Economy
caption_attribution_description: Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland English: View of the Main Street, looking north-east.
context_page_description: Ballinasloe is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway in Connacht. It is one of the largest towns in County Galway with a population of 6,662 people as of the 2016 census.
context_section_description: Fast-food restaurant Supermac's opened its first restaurant in Ballinasloe in 1978. The restaurant chain is now present in over 116 locations, including three stores in the town.
  Ballinasloe was traditionally an agricultural economy, though the 1980s and 1990s saw a number of factories locate in the town. Local employers include Aptar, a manufacturing company, and Surmodics, a medical company who committed to creating 100 new jobs in Ballinasloe between 2016 and 2021. Both factories are located in the Business & Technology Park, which is a 39-acre site.
  Another contributor to the local economy is the Enterprise Centre. Managed by the Ballinasloe Area Community Development (BACD), it is located on the outskirts of Ballinasloe along the Creagh Road. As of mid-2020, there were 26 enterprises based in the centre, with 9 more regularly using the training, meeting and hot-desk facilities.
  Local business in the town centre focuses on stores and restaurants. Gullane's Hotel, a three-star hotel, has served the area since 1943. The Shearwater Hotel, a four-star hotel, is located at Marina Point, just across from Lidl.
  In May 2017, a Bank of Ireland "Enterprise Town" weekend was hosted in Ballinasloe, the event being opened by Minister Denis Naughten, and Gavin Duffy of Dragons' Den.
  In June 2020, fears began to grow for the future of 120 jobs at an Aptar factory in Ballinasloe. Several TDs called for a multi-agency taskforce to respond to the issue. On 28 August 2020, Aptar confirmed it would cease operations at the facility by December 2020, with the loss of 115 jobs. In a statement, Aptar announced that industrial equipment would be transferred to other Aptar global sites between September and November 2020.
caption: Main Street, Ballinasloe, where the first Supermac's restaurant is located
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