US company Netgear will create up to 100 new jobs following its decision to set up its international headquarters at the UCC Technology Centre on the southside of Cork city.
Netgear, a worldwide provider of technologically advanced branded networking products, was established in 1996 in California.
The company designs, develops, and markets networking products for small business and home users worldwide and offers a range of ethernet, broadband and wireless networking products for connection to PCs.
Speaking at the jobs announcement yesterday in Cork, Netgear chairman Patrick Lo said that its sales out of North America now exceed 56 per cent of the total and a base in the south of Ireland would allow them to offer a better service to their international customers.
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin said that it was the first operation established by Netgear outside the United States, describing it as an excellent addition to the IT industry cluster in Cork.
"This operation will centralise many of the current geographically diverse activities into one location and we know they will find the required skills and infrastructure necessary in Cork for a knowledge-based business of this kind."
The centre in Cork will be a replication of the parent company in Santa Clara, California, which currently employs 300 people.
Recruitment for positions in technical and IT support, finance, operations and product marketing is already under way.
In a separate initiative, a €4 million enterprise centre in Bishopstown on the southside of Cork city, which was officially opened yesterday by Mr Martin, is expected to create hundreds of new jobs.
The Rubicon Centre on the grounds of Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) will provide a base for high potential knowledge-based start up companies.
The centre, which took on its first clients in February, is fully occupied by 14 companies and has created 58 jobs. The firms are involved in a wide range of work - from designing software solutions for the forestry and timber industry to the development of new semiconductors.
As the companies develop, hundreds of more jobs are expected to come on stream. The centre was jointly financed by CIT and Enterprise Ireland.
