Ireland's most northern point, Malin in Co Donegal, is in line for up to 200 new jobs when IT company Forward Emphasis, based in Belfast, announces officially this week it has bought the former Fruit of the Loom plant there.
A spokesman for Enterprise Ireland, which has been closely involved in the deal, yesterday confirmed the acquisition was part of an economic package for the northwest to be announced soon by the Tanaiste, Ms Harney.
Forward Emphasis, a firm committed to ethical trading standards, says the purchasing package for the Malin plant was put together by it, Enterprise Ireland and Donegal County Council with "a lot of creative thinking".
The council bought the plant and sold it to Forward Emphasis. Enterprise Ireland is reported to have put up £250,000 (€317,662) in grant aid with future funds available if the company expands.
Forward Emphasis plans to move its inbound call-centre and direct mail services to the 16,000 sq ft premises within eight weeks while its outbound operations including market research and charity promotion work will remain at the firm's Belfast premises.
"Our clients in London and Dublin have asked that we have 200 people ready to respond to TV campaigns and care-lines.
"At our Belfast location there is only room for 60 operators. Given the property prices in Belfast, it seemed a perfect option for us to move to the Inishowen peninsula where there is a fantastic building and a highly-motivated workforce," says marketing director Mr Patrick Loughrey.
Forward Emphasis is talking to FAS and hopes to start recruiting staff within two to three weeks. It will initially employ a pool of up to 150 people, 50-70 full-time, but expects to employ at least 200 people within two years.
One of Donegal's major advantages in this particular line of business is the friendly accent of the staff, Mr Loughrey adds.
"On the telephone, the tone and delivery are everything, especially if you do promotion work for charities. Since so many Irish people who emigrated went into the caring professions abroad, an Irish accent is often synonymous with a friendly caring attitude. There is no reason why we shouldn't take advantage of that image."
Forward Emphasis, which donates 10 per cent of its annual profits to a human rights fund, was "sad" to learn that so many highly-skilled people had been made redundant by Fruit of the Loom and decided to help, Mr Loughrey adds. "Of all industries, ours is one that can go to the most remote area and set up there. I wish more companies would have the foresight to realise that you get a far better motivated workforce in a rural area where there is very little staff turnover," he says.
The company's clients include trade unions such as Unison and the TUC, the British and Irish sections of Amnesty International and charities such as Save the Children, Age Concern and Oxfam. It subscribes to an ethical business charter which Mr Loughrey says makes perfect business sense. "We can't represent clients of that nature if we don't ensure that our ethical foundations are completely in line with their own. In terms of our own staff, we ensure their loyalty by treating them well. It's simply a case of mixing corporate responsibility with good business sense."
