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Minister Bruton announces new export contracts worth €8million during trade mission to Canada

Enterprise Ireland reports on successful 3-day Trade Mission to Canada

accompanied by 30 companies

A total of €8million in new business contracts

were announced by Irish companies, and a further five significant new

Irish-Canadian partnerships were announced during the trade mission to

Canada led by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton

TD.

Minister Bruton returned to Ireland this weekend following the 3-day

Enterprise Ireland trade mission on which he was accompanied by Enterprise

Ireland officials as well as 30 Irish companies seeking to grow their

exports to Canada, ranging from high-potential start-ups employing fewer

than five people to more established businesses employing over 3,500.

The contracts and partnerships secured during the trade mission include:

· Lincor Solutions, a life sciences company based in Cork, announced

over $4 million CAN in new business with hospitals in Quebec and

Newfoundland

· Leading Edge Group (Cork), a business process and consultancy company

announced several major contracts worth over $350,000 CAN with new

clients including the Ministry of Health in Alberta and Toyota

dealerships in Quebec and Ontario.

· FINEOS Corporation, based in Dublin, a provider of claims management

software, announced a significant contract with the Manitoba Teachers

Society, to manage claims and payments from its employee benefits

plan

· Dundalk-based Multihog Ltd announced a significant deal with

Vancouver Airport to supply three Multihog base vehicles and a wide

range of attachments. The machines supplied for Vancouver will

primarily be used for snow clearance and de-icing around parked

aircrafts.

· Waterford company ZolkC announced that they are providing

interpretive audio tours for over 20,000 Canadian users at two of the

top Canadian tourist sites. The CN Tower turned green during the

Minister’s visit to mark the announcement

The aim of the trade mission was to cement and build on links and open new

doors for increased export business. Exports to Canada by Enterprise

Ireland clients rose by 19% to €224m in 2011. Significantly, it is hoped

that exports for 2012 will increase by a further 20%.

Speaking following his return to Ireland Minister Bruton said:

“Central to the Government’s plan for jobs and growth is creating a

powerful engine of indigenous enterprise. Indigenous exporting companies

currently directly and indirectly employ over 300,000 jobs in Ireland. If

we are to create the jobs and growth we need we must build on this to

improve the performance of our domestic industries, and through the Action

Plan for Jobs we are providing a range of improved supports to help achieve

this.

“The intensive programme of trade and investment missions which I – along

with many other Ministers – have led since taking office is a major part of

this. The 30 companies who accompanied us on this mission to Canada have

seen significant benefits in terms of new business won and new contacts

made which will lead directly to increases in exports and ultimately more

jobs in Ireland. I commend the companies, Enterprise Ireland all involved

in the preparation and execution of this successful trade mission. Through

continued strong implementation of the Action Plan for Jobs I am determined

to ensure that we can continue our strong export performance, create a

powerful engine of indigenous enterprise and create the jobs we need”.

Frank Ryan, CEO, Enterprise Ireland commented:

‘The objective of this mission was to develop partnerships and grow sales

for Irish companies in Canada. All events on the trade mission were aimed

at opening doors for Irish companies and paving the way for more Irish

exports into Canada. The impact of export success in markets such as Canada

on the Irish economy is significant. Indigenous Irish companies are

responsible for the direct and indirect employment of more than 300,000

people in every town and village in Ireland. The performance of Irish

exporters in Canada is to be commended. Enterprise Ireland will continue to

provide every support to Irish companies to secure more business in Canada

and North America, boosting the economy and sustaining and creating much

needed jobs in Ireland.

’Canada is an extremely important market for Irish companies, and the

expected 20% growth in exports to Canada by Enterprise Ireland client

companies in 2012 clearly demonstrates that there are significant, tangible

opportunities for increased trade and partnerships between Irish and

Canadian companies.’

For further information contact:

Ciara Concannon, Press Manager, Enterprise Ireland +353 1 7272284,

087-2043435

Patrick Cluskey, Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, 087-3748301

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Over the course of the three-day trade mission, Minister Bruton

participated in a total of over 20 meetings and engagements including:

• 17 meetings and events with Irish exporting companies targeting the

Canadian market, Canadian companies who may offer opportunities to

them, as well as other Irish and Canadian business leaders in

targeted sectors

• 3 interviews with Canadian broadcast media, as part of the ongoing

plan by the Government to rebuild Ireland’s reputation abroad

• A meeting with the Canadian Minister for Finance, as part of a

programme to improve opportunities for Irish companies, as well as

discussing other issues

This is Minister Bruton’s twelfth major trade/investment mission since

taking office in March 2011. Other missions undertaken include:

• Five IDA investment missions, two to the USA east coast, two to the

west coast and one encompassing the East Coast, South and Mid-West

• Three Enterprise Ireland trade missions, one to Saudi Arabia and

India, one to the south-eastern USA, one to France accompanied by a

total of over 100 Irish companies looking to break into new export

markets

• A 7-day joint IDA/EI mission to China led by the Taoiseach

• A 5-day EI/IDA trip to the west coast of the USA built around St

Patrick’s Day

• A 2-day mission to Germany around St Patrick’s Day 2011, including

a series of meetings arranged by Enterprise Ireland, Bord Bia and

Tourism Ireland

• A large number of shorter trips to Europe for EU business as well

as trade/investment objectives, including most recently a one-day

trip to Bucharest with the Taoiseach to attend the European People’s

Party Congress in advance of the European Council meeting.

Minister Bruton also met with leading Canadian financial services and

telecoms executives at a series of advisory panels for Irish companies as

well as meeting with key stakeholders in the local Irish community

including the Irish Dairy Board and the Ireland Canada Chamber of Commerce.

Significant commercial agreements and announcements were made by a number

of companies including:

· Lincor Solutions, based in Cork, announced over $4 million CAN in new

business with hospitals in Quebec and Newfoundland. Lincor produces

MEDIVista, a digital service delivery platform for hospital patients.

· Millmount Healthcare, a Co. Meath based pharmaceutical packaging

company, announced the completion of its first order with major

Canadian pharmaceutical company Apotex Inc. for the contract

packaging of their high-value pharmaceutical product.

· Waterford company ZolkC announced that they are providing

interpretive audio tours through their VGuide for over 20,000

Canadians users at two of the top Canadian tourist sites, CN Tower

and Jasper Tramway. Minister Bruton visited the CN Tower to

experience ZolkC’s technology in action. To mark the Minister’s visit

the CN Tower turned green for the night of 7th November.

· Dundalk based Multihog Ltd announced a significant deal with

Vancouver Airport to supply three Multihog base vehicles and a wide

range of attachments. The Multihog is a one-machine solution for a

wide variety of groundcare, highway maintenance and winter clearance

applications. The machines supplied for Vancouver will primarily be

used for snow clearance and de-icing around parked aircrafts.

· Galway company, Lifes2Good, will shortly announce a significant

partnership with a Canadian distributor to bring health and beauty

products, Viviscal and Micropedi, to leading Canadian drug and

grocery chains.

· SAAS Markets (part of Dublin group Sysnet) will launch their

Software-as-a-Service App Store for Canadian Entrepreneurs at an

event in Toronto today (Friday 9 Nov). This technology offers more

than 1,300 trusted SaaS applications specifically designed to meet

the needs of small to medium-sized businesses.

· One Posting, Co. Dublin opened an office in Toronto.

· Leading Edge Group (Cork) who expanded into Canada five years ago

announced several major contracts worth over $350,000 CAN with new

clients including the Ministry of Health in Alberta and Toyota

dealerships in Quebec and Ontario.

· FINEOS Corporation, based in Dublin, a market leading provider of

claims management software, announced details of a significant

contract with a leading Canadian insurance plan provider.

· Drogheda based company, IPL, announced details of a contract with GO

Transit for the provision of their RS Sockets which were used by the

organizers of the 2012 Olympic Games to easily and safely install and

remove posts and signage along key traffic routes in high congestion

areas.

Over 220 Irish companies are selling goods and services into Canada

spanning a wide range of sectors including telecoms, financial services and

consumer retail. To further grow and develop export sales into Canada and

North America, 10 Irish companies will set up offices in Canada this year

including:

· Lifes2Good

· One Posting

· Openet

· ZolkC

· The Now Factory

· Ezetop

· Vizor

· Mapflow

· Aurum

· Intuition Publishing

· Adaptive Mobile