By Business & Finance The Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, led by Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD and Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD has resulted in the creation of 95 new jobs in Ireland and new contracts and business developments worth more than €65mn.
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, 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.
Separately, Absal Paul, an Irish Saudi contract services provider announced that it had signed more than €100mn in contracts over the past 12 months, with partners including Haliburton, the Saudi Stock Exchange, Boeing and General Electric.
Welcoming these announcements and the success of the Trade Mission, An Taoiseach 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 €65mn 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 €1bn 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 of 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.”
