BOSTON – DPS Group, a privately-owned global consulting, engineering, and construction management company, serving high-tech industries around the world, celebrated its tenth anniversary in the U.S.
Founded in 1974 in Dublin, Ireland, to service the country’s burgeoning pharmaceutical sector, DPS Group opened its first office in the U.S. in 2011 with a staff of less than 10 based in Framingham, Massachusetts (outside of Boston). The company has since grown its U.S. presence to over 900 employees across eight offices in Albany, New York; Cary, North Carolina; Framingham, Massachusetts; Portland, Oregon; Kansas City, Kansas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; and Wall Township, New Jersey.
Serving high-tech industries around the world, DPS Group delivers full Engineering-Procurement-Construction Management-Validation (EPCMV) services across a range of disciplines, including project management, procurement, architectural and engineering design, construction management, health and safety management, commissioning, qualification, and validation (CQV), facility start-up and client-side technical services.
“We are absolutely thrilled to celebrate 10 years in the United States,” said Aidan O’Dwyer, president of U.S. project operations. “Over the past decade we’ve invested heavily in growing our U.S. presence. That investment has allowed us deliver world class service for our clients and has created a culture of professional satisfaction and career fulfillment for our staff.”
Aidan continued, “We devote a huge amount of time and effort into finding and recruiting the best people to our team and providing professional development opportunities to our employees. We partner closely with colleges and universities near our offices, providing internship opportunities and scholarships to develop the next generation of talent. Once someone joins our team we invest heavily in their professional development, always conscious of preparing them to advance to the next step of their career.”
DPS has evolved from its process engineering roots to deliver services across the engineering and construction value chain, including feasibility studies, architecture, procurement, construction management, CQV, and client-side technical services.
“Covid-19 has been a really tough period for everyone, and DPS is fortunate to be able to play a small part in the fight against the pandemic,” continued Aidan. “In the life sciences sector, DPS has supported 16 COVID-related projects ranging from vaccines and therapeutics to diagnostic tests, while in the semi-conductor sector we executed numerous projects in response to the global shortage of microchips. As a company and as human beings, we are very grateful for the opportunity to help our clients and support their vital work during this unprecedented period.”
The company enjoys an unrivaled reputation for innovation, ingenuity, and continuous improvement. Within the life sciences sector there has been a significant focus in recent years on designing facilities for novel therapies, including mRNA, microbiome, oligonucleotide, cell, and gene therapy. Modalities that either didn’t exist or were in the very early stages of development a decade ago are now prominent and require DPS to respond to novel processes in terms of facility design, construction, regulatory compliance, and licensing requirements. In the semi-conductor sector, DPS employees design and build some of the most advanced microchip manufacturing facilities in the world. “Our people are intellectually curious and like a challenge,” said Aidan. “The opportunity to deliver a new solution, design a new approach to a problem, or improve further on existing methodologies is both exciting and fulfilling.”
Most recently DPS-designed facilities have been recognized by the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers (ISPE) with two prestigious Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA). In 2019, Moderna’s new clinical development manufacturing facility in Norwood, Mass. was the category winner for Facility of the Future and ElevateBio’s BaseCamp project in Waltham, Mass. was the 2021 category winner for Operational Excellence.
DPS as a company is dynamic, adaptable, honest, and human. In line with these core values, DPS has a commitment to their clients and deep connections to the communities they serve. Through scholarships, donation drives, financial contributions, sponsorships, and the time and effort of employees, each DPS office immerses itself in actions that support their localities. Employees are encouraged to participate in individual volunteer opportunities as part of their personal and professional development trajectories. In tandem with these efforts, DPS has implemented an official company-sponsored volunteer initiative where employees come together and spend a workday lending a hand in support of a common recipient. This year alone, the initiative has allowed DPS to contribute time and funds to organizations including Cradles to Crayons, Household Goods, Inc., Daniel’s Table, Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism, Gift of Life Family House, Feeding America, Nourish Phoenix, Americares, Department of Children and Families, Boys and Girls Clubs, local animal shelters, and more.
DPS Group has contributed to or participated in numerous charitable endeavors over the past ten years. Most recently, DPS established the Indu Conley Memorial Scholarship at Tufts University in 2021 to celebrate the legacy of Indu Conley, an industry subject matter expert and process department manager in the Boston office. “Indu was instrumental in establishing DPS in the US and its Boston office to where it is today, from a small newcomer to an industry leader,” said Eddie Skillington, vice president of business development. “Indu felt very strongly about gender equality in the industry, and she was an advocate for women in pharma and the under-represented in general. We are proud to create a four-year scholarship which will support a student pursuing a degree in engineering in her memory.” The School of Engineering at Tufts is committed to making an engineering education accessible to underrepresented groups and -attracting a wide array of perspectives and talents in solving the 21st century’s technology and engineering challenges.
“Our approach has always been to take care of our clients and serve their needs first,” continued Aidan. “We are excited about the future and look forward to partnering with our clients to bring cutting-edge discoveries to market.”
