NEARLY 700 new jobs have been announced by the Minister for Enterprise and Employment Mr Richard Bruton. They will be created in Dublin, Cavan, Waterford and Limerick, but the lead in time for some of the jobs will be five years.
Some 530 of the jobs will be provided by US companies in the electronic and computer sectors. However, the Belgian firm Pauwels Trafo and the Swiss firm ABB Transformers Ltd are to create over 160 jobs between them.
Pauwels Trafo, one of the world's largest manufacturers of transformers, is to create 129 jobs through a £6 million expansion of its plant in Cavan.
Work on the expansion is almost completed and 40 of the extra staff have already been recruited. This brings total employment to 230.
ABB Brown Boveri Ltd is the Irish subsidiary of the ABB Transformers group. It will expand its existing workforce of 106 in Waterford by a further 54 over four years. The plant produces industrial transformers and new products such as industrial substations for wind farms.
The largest of the new investors is the Sanmina Corporation which intends to provide 250 jobs in Dublin at a location still to be decided. Based in San Jose, California, Sanmina produces customised integrated manufacturing services for the electronic sector.
The jobs will come on stream over a five year period and a third of recruits will need diploma or degree level qualifications. The balance will be trained for manufacturing and assembly activities.
The £27.8 million operation is aimed at providing a full spectrum of services, from engineering design to the testing of complete systems. The Irish plant will service existing customers in Europe and will include European sales, administration and customer support services.
Meta Tools Inc is another California based company. A visual computing software operation, it is to establish its international operations centre at Europa House in Harcourt Street, Dublin. It will employ 30 people.
PKS Information Services Inc is a computer out sourcing and systems integrated company based in Omaha. It will set up a new operation in Plassey Technology Park, Limerick. The new Irish subsidiary, PKS Systems Integration (Ireland) Ltd, will provide support for PKS software reengineering services. It should lead to 126 jobs over three years.
Bausch & Lomb is to invest £65 million in a £6.5 million expansion plan for its existing Waterford plant, where it manufactures contact lenses. This will create an extra 100 jobs over three years.
The announcements will go some way to offset the bad news 10 days ago that nearly 900 jobs were being lost with the closure of the Semperit tyre plant in Ballyfermot, Dublin, and Tambrands in Tipperary.
Mr Bruton announced the new jobs on his return from a tour of the US during which he also spoke to senior management representatives of the Cooper Tyre Company. Cooper has expressed an interest in acquiring the Semperit plant. Talks are continuing.
Mr Bruton acknowledged the role played in attracting new industry by the EU Structural Fund transfers. These had played an important part, through the operational programme for industrial development, in promoting training and stimulating investment.
