Enterprise Ireland will this week begin a major campaign in Britain to get industry there to use Irish building firms and materials in the lead up to the 2012 Olympics.
Several multi-million pound contracts associated with the Olympics will be awarded over the next year and Enterprise Ireland plans to highlight the value and innovation available throughout the Irish construction industry. Up to £10 billion in total is expected to be spent getting the infrastructure in place for the games.
The agency has done research which it claims shows UK industry wasting millions of pounds each year through inefficient services. It claims this money could have been saved if sourcing was done through Irish suppliers. It is estimated that Irish firms already export 40 per cent of their construction-related services and products to the UK.
The Enterprise Ireland campaign is expected to be in place for some time and it is likely to come into sharp focus during periods when contracts relating to the 2012 Olympics are being allocated.
The agency has hired Irish-owned UK public relations firm Eulogy to direct the campaign. The PR campaign will focus on the UK and Irish media. Eulogy is based in London with clients like the Royal Mail, MUTV, Virgin Radio and the Bereavement Register.
The campaign will state that in the lead up to the 2012 Olympics, the pressure for the UK to "sharpen its focus becomes more and more crucial".
The building work for the 2012 event will centre around several flagship projects. For example, there will be major work available building the Olympic Park in Stratford in east London. Also being built is an aquatics centre and a BMX Velopark. Work on the Olympic stadium itself will not begin until 2008. Completion dates have been staggered, with the Aquatics Centre due to be finished by 2009, the Velopark by 2010 and the main stadium by 2011 in time for test events in the run-up to the games.
A central part of Enterprise Ireland's work is the setting up of a new network called Fill These Boots - which will be a grouping of Irish professionals involved in the UK construction industry. The network will comprise the main players in the Irish construction sector being grouped under one umbrella. New innovative Irish construction products will be highlighted through this grouping. A website www.filltheseboots.net has been set up by senior Enterprise Ireland staff.
Gerry McCaughey, manager director of Kingspan Century, the timber frame firm, is one of those involved in this and the overall campaign. He said: "The Irish construction sector is a first class industry, and this network offers the UK easy access to the crème of Irish skills, companies and products. It also provides the construction industry in the UK with an opportunity to create dynamic new relationships to deliver construction projects with experienced Irish companies."
Stephen Hughes, industrial manager, Northern Europe, Enterprise Ireland London said in the current construction boom in the lead up to the Olympics, the agency was committed to enabling a smooth and successful execution of the event.
