NEWS and VIEWS: Spring 2020

A first look at new job announcements, research projects, global rankings and ongoing innovation in Ireland.

Winning Ways

IDA Ireland’s Winning – Foreign Direct Investment 2015- 2019 Strategy finished on a high note with employment levels in client companies reaching 245,096: the highest ever number employed in the multinational sector. In 2019, 21,844 new jobs were created in 250 projects in FDI companies, half of these investments were from firsttime investors. Martin Shanahan, CEO of IDA Ireland said: “Foreign Direct Investment continues to be a substantive driver of the economy and IDA Ireland clients now account directly for 10.5% of national employment.” Employment grew across all sectors, with 110 investments regionally, creating 5,368 net jobs.

Smart Move

A well-known name in the smartphone and tablet case sector, Otter Products EMEA was first established in Cork in 2010 and has since achieved accelerated growth across the EMEA market year-onyear. The company is moving on to the next phase in their development, locating to their new purpose-designed premises on South Mall, Cork City. Otter Products EMEA currently has 73 employees across the region and the new site has capacity for up to 100 employees, a sure indicator of the business’s growth ambitions. Opening the company’s new premises, Barrie Collins, Managing Director said, “We have built a business that is connected globally but works locally. Our people are central to our success and I see this office as a sign of where we are and setting us up for further expansion, as we near our tenth anniversary in Europe.”

Jo McAleer Senior Business Solutions & Process Specialist Otter Products, Barrie Collins Managing Director Otter Products, Leo Clancy IDA Ireland, Cllr Fergal Dennehy Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork

Limerick Bound

FundRock, a leading independent UCITS Management Company and Alternative Investment Fund Manager, celebrated the official opening of its Limerick office in November of this year. Serving as an operational centre of excellence, it has already exceeded growth expectations with further growth expected in a variety of functions including Investment Risk and Compliance, Fund Accounting and Depositary Oversight, and Regulatory Reporting. Commenting at the opening, Conor O’ Brien, Managing Director for the Irish branch of FundRock said, “Today is another step in demonstrating FundRock’s full commitment to Limerick, the mid-west region and the funds ecosystem in Ireland.”

Xavier Parain Group CEO at FundRock, Patrick O’Donovan Minister of State, Anne-Marie Tierney-Le Roux Head of Regions IDA Ireland, Conor O’Brien Managing Director Ireland at FundRock, Cllr Adam Teskey Deputy Mayor City and County of Limerick, William Corcoran Regional Manager Mid-West Region IDA Ireland

Like Minds

Recruitment is underway at Huawei Ireland with the opening of its new state-of-the-art office, and operations at the Dublin HQ will include communications, administration, marketing, its Irish consumer business and related sales functions. At the launch, Jijay Shen, CEO of Huawei Ireland, said, “We are proud of our history in Ireland and Huawei will continue to support Ireland’s digital transformation through fixed broadband solutions, wireless solutions, and 5G.” Visiting Dublin to support the announcements, Huawei Rotating Chairman, Mr. Guo Ping said, “Huawei admires the resiliency and determination of the Irish people because these values are at the core of our business, too. Ireland has an open economy and a highly-skilled talent pool and today’s announcement of 100 jobs and the opening of a new Dublin office will drive our longterm investment and cooperation focus here.”

Tops in Tech

High-tech jobs are on offer with the opening of Eurofins’ Global Software Engineering Centre in south county Dublin. Claudius Masuch, Director of the Eurofins IT Solutions Engineering Office at the life sciences company, is impressed with the standard of applicants. “In our search for talent in the Digital and DevOps space, I am pleased to see that the quality of applicants, both from Ireland and abroad, is outstanding.” Eurofins was established in Ireland in 2003 and currently employs approximately 800 people across laboratories in Dublin, Waterford and Cork in the areas of clinical diagnostics, biopharma product testing, food and beverage testing as well as environmental testing, and has corporate functions based in Dublin.

Aiming High

Dr. Norah Patten, a leading Irish engineer who is bidding to become Ireland’s first-ever astronaut was on hand to open EJ’s new production facility in Birr, county Offaly. EJ, a fifth-generation family-owned company headquartered in Michigan, USA, provides a full line of access solutions for the infrastructure systems of municipalities, utility companies, airport and port authorities, and private industries. Speaking at the event, Padraig Freeman, Vice President of EJ said, “Investing in our Irish facility allows us to serve local and European market needs from Birr. We are now exporting high-performance composite access solutions to several European markets.”

The Malpass family; Tracy, Lindsey and Matthew present Norah Patten with a space-themed composite cover

Work-life Balance

Online retail and technology leader Overstock.com has opened its new European base in the IDA Ireland’s flagship North West business park in Sligo. Last year, the company announced the creation of new roles across software development, machine learning, and data analytics and the company has been successful in highlighting the affordable cost of living and lifestyle options in the North West, along with attractive career progression opportunities.

Overstocks's office in Sligo

Relay Race

Leading US media monitoring and analytics firm, PublicRelay has announced plans to establish a new office in Cavan, creating 20 new jobs over the next two years. The company has an office in Dublin, and Cavan was chosen for its second site thanks to the strong pool of educated talent available in the region and the newly opened Digital Hub where the company initially will be based. “The educated, friendly workforce and proximity to our Dublin office make Cavan an ideal location to expand our presence in Ireland,” according to Eric Koefoot, CEO of PublicRelay.

PublicRelay’s second Irish office will be in the new Cavan Digital Hub