chain – from logistics and supply chain management
to the business model itself.
How innovative are the products and
services that are coming out of Ireland?
Enterprise Ireland co-operates with our sister
agencies in a variety of ways across the spectrum.
For instance, a lot of the indigenous Irish companies
identify major sales opportunities when US
companies make a foreign direct investment here.
So Enterprise Ireland coordinates with the IDA
to make sure that market entrants have all of their
needs serviced by local companies. Overseas, IDA
and Enterprise Ireland offices are located side by
side where possible.
Irish innovation is truly a global phenomenon. For
example, when you arrive in the United States,
you will have your eyes and finger prints scanned
by US Immigration. The technology that is used
there comes from an Irish company – Daon. This
technology is also used in all airports in Australia
and in Narita Airport in Japan.
There is also an initiative whereby the IDA and
Enterprise Ireland have co-funded 7 “Competence
Centres”, staffed by and located in Irish
Universities. These are industry-focused research
centres that concentrate on key areas such as bioenergy and bio-refining, IT innovation, applied
nanotechnology, microelectronics and composite
materials. These centres are used as a conduit for
academia and industry to collaborate in specific
fields. Science Foundation Ireland is also very
much involved with these projects that serve to
compliment their Strategic Research Clusters
(SRCs) and Centres for Strategic Engineering and
Technology research (CSETs).
What recent developments have there
been in key sectors?
As a country, we also have deep competence in
pharmaceuticals, medical devices, construction
services and food.
Danone recently invested in a €50 million expansion
at its facility for the production of baby infant
formula in Macroom, Co. Cork. This project, taken
in conjunction with Pfizer’s plant that it recently
acquired from Wyeth, and the production facility
that belongs to Abbot, will mean that, globally,
1 in 5 babies are drinking infant formula that has
been produced in Ireland. The complete traceability
of our grass-fed cattle system and our growing
international reputation in the area of food security
means that Ireland has become a lead player in
the sector.
In terms of medical devices, Creganna acquired
Tactx Medical last year. This is an example
demonstrative of Irish ingenuity in the field. If you
were to undergo a medical procedure anywhere
in the world, in which a stent is implanted in
your body, there is an 80% probability that Irish
technology from Creganna will be used to insert it.
40
Operating in these state-of-the-art spheres, Irish
companies will pull this country out of recession
faster than many commentators expect. We are a
very open economy, so we go into recession faster
than others, but we will also come out of it faster.
Our export performance for 2010 has been
remarkable, growing 7% in a difficult global
climate. This is the message that is not getting out
there – it has been missing from the international
dialogue – but it is a fact based on evidence from
solid data.
How does Enterprise Ireland view the
clean tech sector?
We have seen a lot of growth in the clean tech
sector. In time, we believe clean tech will end up
being called “Green Tech”. In the same way that,
to some extent, every industry is dependent on oil,
and more recently, most industries have in one way
or another have come to be dependent on software,
we believe that Green Tech will come into play in a
similar way. Every company subscribes to the green
agenda and wants to make their company green. We
look after 23 industry sectors, so rather than risk
focusing on a niche and missing the big picture by
dedicating a department to Green Tech, which itself
involves so many disparate sectors – we decided to
integrate the green agenda into every department.
How does Enterprise Ireland add value
to companies involved in high-value
manufacturing?
In the sector of high value manufacturing, the entire
area of Lean and Six-Sigma has been a real gamechanger for us.
Lean has delivered real competitive advantages to
many Irish companies, and we have seen remarkable
results in terms of efficiency gains in the region of
10-15%.