A specialist software integration firm has said it will create 40 highly-skilled jobs over the next 12-18 months.

SL Controls said recruitment is already under way for engineering roles, including validation, control systems, quality, computer science, vision and field engineers.

The company is headquartered in Sligo and has offices in Galway, Limerick, Dublin and Birmingham, and clients in around Europe and in the US.

The new jobs will be based at its Irish offices but the firm says many of the roles will be to expand the company's Serialisation, Automation, Validation and Equipment Data business across Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe.

The company said one factor behind the expansion was a clampdown on counterfeit drugs, leading to increased demand for the company's expertise in the "integration of software to track medicines and medical devices".

SL Controls Managing Director and co-founder Keith Moran said their business had doubled in size over the last few years. Today's announcement will bring the total workforce to 104.