With the announcement that Intel is to begin a USD500m upgrade of its facilities at its Leixlip campus, the multinational technology giant has reaffirmed its long-term commitment to and investment in Ireland.
Because
With the announcement that Intel is to begin a $500m upgrade of its facilities at its Leixlip campus, the multinational technology giant has reaffirmed its long-term commitment to and investment in Ireland.
At the heart of the Intel in Ireland is vice-president and general manager of Irish operations Eamonn Sinnott, who has been at the centre of Intel’s success story in Ireland for over 20 years.
Investment
The company plans to refit its Leixlip factory over the next two years, which will create 850 construction jobs, with an initial 200 technology workers being hired in advance of the new facility being completed.
Describing the decision to invest here as a watershed for Intel in Ireland, Sinnott sees the investment as a major boost for the local and national economy.
Sinnott became a vice president of Intel in April of last year, and has been a major player in Intel’s Irish operation since 1991, becoming a plant manager in 2006.
More than 4,000 people work at the Intel campus in Leixlip. In addition, more than 200 people are employed at Intel Communications Europe, the Ireland product development arm of our Communications Product Group, located in Shannon, Co Clare. Intel has been in Ireland since 1989.
IDA Ireland CEO Barry O’Leary welcomed the announcement, saying it was “an enormous vote of confidence and endorsement of Ireland as a competitive location for global investment”.
Corporation Tax
In an interview with The Irish Times, Sinnott emphasised the importance of Ireland maintaining its 12.5% corporation tax rate, and that this was a key factor in the decision to make such a significant investment.
“If we had signalled we were willing to trade our corporate tax rate they would have factored that into their calculations and that would have a different result than the one that we have,” said Sinnott in the interview.
International success
The world’s largest maker of computer chips topped the best year in its 42-year history with record quarterly revenues of $11.5bn in 2010 and announced it will invest $9bn in plant and machinery in anticipation of an even better 2011.
The record results for 2010 showed that Intel is thriving and the company expects first-quarter revenue in 2011 to come in somewhere between $11.1bn and $11.9bn, proving again that it is one of the major global players in the technology industry.
History
Sinnott joined Intel Corporation in 1991 as manufacturing shift manager in Ireland. He has held a variety of factory management positions in Ireland, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Portland, Oregon. Sinnott became the factory manager for the 300mm start-up/ramp of Fab 24 in 2001 before taking over as the plant manager in 2006, successfully ramping the 65nm technology.
Prior to joining Intel, Sinnott worked as an engineer at Digital Equipment Corporation and as a manufacturing manager at Nuvotem.
Sinnott received an MBA from University College Dublin in 2000 and a bachelor’s degree in science from University of Dublin, Trinity College in 1986. He is a board member of the Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN), Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland.
Intel inside
The company has announced a major $500m investment in its Irish base, upgrading its facilities and stimulating the economy.
Intel currently employs approximately 4000 people in its Leixlip plant.
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