German semiconductor firm ZMDI is to create 35 skilled engineering positions over the next five years. The company is setting up an RD centre in Limerick which will focus on the development of products for the smart power management sector.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said the decision to base the centre in Limerick was a major endorsement of the country’s capabilities in the area of analog and mixed signal electronics and RD.

Zentrum Mikroelektronik Dresden AG (ZMDI) is a supplier of analog and mixed-signal semiconductors for the mobile medical, industrial automation and consumer markets. The company designs and markets application-specific standard products (ASSPs) and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The Dresden-based company has 280 employees worldwide.

In a separate announcement, CashIQ said it plans to create 45 jobs in Dublin in the next three years. It has launched a search engine giving financial information on over eight million companies in Ireland and Britain.