Enterprise Ireland mission led by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister Richard Bruton part of five-year strategy targeting €1billion in exports to Gulf from Irish companies
Hundreds of meetings held in three countries and four cities over five days
At the end of a busy week which included hundreds of meetings, Irish companies have announced the initial outcomes including the creation of 95 new jobs in Ireland and new contracts and business developments worth more than €65million as well as further investment, trade and jobs expected.
The Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates was led by Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD and Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD and included over 100 executives from 87 Irish companies.
Throughout the week Irish companies from a wide range of sectors concluded deals, prospected with hundreds of potential buyers, developed relationships with key influencers and networked with local experts and buyers in what was the largest ever Irish trade mission to the Gulf.
The deals announced reinforce the huge potential for innovative Irish companies in the fast growing Gulf market which will ultimately mean jobs in Ireland.
Today Thursday three Irish companies announced the creation of a total of
95 jobs in Ireland arising from deals concluded this week.
Some of the deals announced include:
- Portwest, an Irish company specialising in the design and manufacture of high quality work wear, has recently established a distribution centre and sales office in the UAE, servicing the Middle East and Africa. The company expect to create 50 new jobs at Portwest’s Irish headquarters in Westport.
- Crowley Carbon, an international energy efficiency firm, signed a deal worth AED 100 million with facilities management company Emrill to deploy its Carbon Control Centre technology in 800 buildings under Emrill management. The company expects to open an office in Dubai in 2014, as well as employ a further 20 staff in Ireland as a result of the Emrill partnership
- Glenbeigh Records Management, based in Finglas, Dublin opened its new 70,000 sq ft purpose-built facility in Dubai and announced 25 new jobs in Dublin. The site, designed and built by its sister company Glenbeigh Construction, offers state-of-the-art storage solutions and advanced security systems guaranteed to protect corporate information assets.
- Adaptive Mobile, a world leader in mobile security from Dublin closed more than $5m worth of business in December.
- Gabriel Scientific announced a distribution deal with Intercoil for its SleepAngel pillow across the Middle East and North Africa. The agreement establishes SleepAngel as a premium choice in a discerning market by one of the most respected bedding brands in the region.
- Oneview Healthcare, one of the leading global providers of patient engagement solutions for the hospital and nursing home markets, announced they have reached agreement in principle with Dubai’s two Mediclinic hospitals to install its unique software.
- MIAGEN announced it will expand its international operations to the UAE in 2014, where it is scheduled to open an office within the next six months. The news comes after the global Forecasting, Planning and Analysis consultancy won a lucrative contract with Etihad Airways to help the aviation leader develop and model its five-year plan for growth through the use of MIAGEN’s specially developed integration product ‘Rocket’.
- DAON, a leading provider of identity assurance and identification and verification software and services worldwide, is opening a new office in Abu Dhabi.
- Broadmeadow Healthcare International (BHI), a subsidiary of Ireland’s Broadmeadow Healthcare Group, has launched in the UAE, with its first office in Dubai World Central.
- Díona Technologies, who provide innovative mobility solutions for the global health and human services market, announced a partnership with MDS in Qatar to accelerate the sale, distribution, localisation and implementation of Díona’s Government Enterprise Mobility solutions in the Middle East and Gulf Region.
- Escher Group signed a new contract with Saudi Post to extend their licence agreement from 150 – 800 operational workstations.
- Instant Upright signed a $1m deal with the Saudi Electric Company for boiler systems in the Ghazian power plant.
- Jones Engineering signed a deal worth in excess of €15m with a major multinational fast-moving consumer goods brand.
- Ezetop inked a deal with the largest retail bank in the Middle East, Al Rajhi Bank to provide software that enables the bank’s customers to buy international top ups in over 500 branches, 3,300 ATMs and 27,000 points of sale.
- Rehab Group signed an agreement worth an expected €2.3million over the first 12 months with the Human Resources Development Fund to support it in the development of its inclusive employment and pre employment programmes for people with disabilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
- KCC Architectural, an international architectural specialist announced multiple contract wins with customers in Doha including the Kempinski Hotels, Qatar Airways and Aspeter Hospital.
- Kentz Corporation, a global engineering solutions provider, opened an office in Doha to offer specialised Oil and Gas, infrastructure and transportation sectors.
- Byrne Looby, the international engineering services provider, has entered a joint venture partnership with ASCO Consulting Engineers in Qatar.
- S3 Group has announced that as part of beIN Sports preparations for the
2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, it has chosen S3 Group to provide a turnkey solution for test automation, to increase the speed and quality of the development of its pay television services for viewers in 23 countries in the MENA region.
Separately, Absal Paul, an Irish Saudi contract services provider announced that it had signed more than €100m in contracts over the past twelve months, with partners including Haliburton, the Saudi Stock Exchange, Boeing and General Electric.
Welcoming these announcements and the success of the Trade Mission, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said: "I greatly welcome the announcement of these new jobs and €65 million in new contracts for Irish companies and I expect further benefits to follow. This has been a highly successful mission which has achieved very tangible outcomes in terms of new business contracts and the strengthening of economic, political and cultural linkages with three important priority markets for Ireland. Irish companies have been steadily increasing their export footprint across the Gulf region and there can be no doubt that the success of this mission will go a long way to seeing that Irish exports continue to grow. Expanding the scope of Irish exports is an essential part our recovery plan to get Ireland working. This Government will continue to prioritise improving Ireland's reputation in foreign markets and helping Irish business succeed around the world”.
Minister Bruton added: "At the heart of the Action Plan for Jobs is our determination to create a powerful engine of exporting Irish companies. That is why we have doubled the number of trade missions since coming to office - because they support increased exports from Irish companies and ultimately more jobs for Ireland. This week in the Gulf the Irish companies have announced 21 deals worth a total of €65million as well as 95 jobs for Ireland. The reality however is that the work done this week will lead to much more than that, and will make a major contribution towards our target of €1billion in exports to this region in five years, which would support 4000 extra jobs in Ireland.
"The work done this week confirms yet again that in Ireland we have many great companies. I commend them on their achievements and hope that with continued support from Government we can deliver on our targets for this region and support the jobs we need".
Julie Sinnamon, CEO Enterprise Ireland, who is accompanying the Taoiseach and Minister Bruton, added: “The trade mission has been a major success for the participating companies. This success is a clear statement of the strong reputation for Irish products and services in these markets. The opportunities are there for innovative, top class, focussed companies, with the commitment to developing long term partnerships and business relationships. Enterprise Ireland will continue to work closely with our client companies so that they can win more business in this region, boosting the economy at home and creating jobs”.