, Irish Examiner Munster Business Editor, looks at some of the longest established US companies based here and some of the newer arrivals
On November 20, 1916, a report carried in this newspaper brought the news that American automobile manufacturer Henry Ford was seeking land in the city’s Marina for £10,000 with plans to invest a further £200,000 to erect factory buildings that would employ at least 2,000 adult males in the manufacture of motor vehicles.
The announcement was widely welcomed and had come came at a critical moment for Cork and Ireland. The following article in the newspaper that day was related to the reconstruction of Dublin city following the destruction that took place during the Easter Rising seven months earlier.
The Ford factory, when opened in 1919 brought huge benefits to the city through the establishment of a major industrial facility and vital income for thousands of workers.
Perhaps more significantly for Cork and Ireland, the decision by Ford began a century of strong manufacturing, business and commercial links between the US and the southern region of Ireland that continues to this day.
The huge numbers of Irish who had emigrated to countries like America, Canada and Australia had created one of the largest diasporas in human history but it was one that maintained strong connections with the motherland.
Henry Ford’s decision to locate in Cork was no doubt strongly influenced by the fact that his father had emigrated from the county in 1847 escaping a country that was blighted by famine.
When the first Fordson tractor trundled off the production line in Cork on July 3, 1919, the city stood on the brink of a bright new industrial era. Manufacturing of various Ford vehicles continued up until the 1980s when the decision was finally taken to close the plant.
However, that 60-year period was to prove transformative not only for Cork but for the entire southern region of Ireland.
In the same way that the innovation of Henry Ford helped the industry of Cork, breakthroughs in the US such as the first manned flight by the Wright Brothers would ultimately see the development of the Shannon region as a key piece of infrastructure for transatlantic flights.
The establishment of the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) in 1949 followed by a series of grants and tax breaks for exports set in train a reputation the country still holds today as being pro-Business.
One of the first industries to respond to this new pro-business Irish state was the pharmaceutical industry. The heavy industrial manufacturing led by the likes of Ford in the early half of the 20th century gave way to the arrival of firms like Pfizer in 1969. The drugmaker’s chosen location of Ringaskiddy in Cork Harbour would ultimately transform the area into a global centre for medicines and healthcare treatments.
Pfizer opened its first Irish operation with an initial investment of €10m. When then-Taoiseach Jack Lynch opened the plant it employed just 16 people. Today the company employs almost 4,000 people and forms a key element of today’s global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic through the development and manufacture of vaccines and anti-virals.
In the more than 40 years since the company first set up here, it has invested a further €5.5bn in developing the 10 locations which currently employ a 5,000 workforce.
Pfizer was followed closely by US firm MSD who now operate across six sites across the country.
Pfizer and MSD are joined by other major US pharmaceutical and manufacturing firms operating across Munster including Abbvie, Boston Scientific, DePuy Synthes, Eli Lilly, Regeneron and Stryker.
The US ingenuity and innovation that began in California’s Silicon Valley in the 1970s opened yet another front of close transatlantic links between the US and Ireland.
In 1980, just four years after founding the company, Apple Computers opened operations on Cork’s northside commencing the manufacture of high tech mac computers. Like Ford, Apple arrived in Cork at a time of high unemployment and their presence here was mutually beneficial. The company had access to a well-educated and relatively cheap labour force while the presence of a tech innovator like Apple set in motion the development of a wider technology-focused hub that continues today.
For two decades Apple carried out significant manufacturing operations in Cork. However, a pivot in the early 2000s toward a service-led model focusing on support, logistics and finances sustained and expanded the company’s presence here. The tech giant now employs almost 6,000 people with plans to further expand in Cork.
In 1998 EMC set up operations in Cork. They would eventually be acquired by Dell who operated a major computer manufacturing facility employing thousands in Raheen in Limerick.
Through the manufacture of tractors, pharmaceuticals and computers over the past century some common traits have kept Ireland and the southern region as a good place to do business for American companies. Our position as an English-speaking country makes it immediately advantageous to US firms seeking a foothold in Europe. On a global scale locations such as Cork Harbour and Shannon Airport are in prime locations for worldwide transport and shipping.
Apple CEO, Tim Cook, at Apple HQ in Hollyhill, Cork, during his visit on November 11, 2015.
For decades, access to a relatively well-educated workforce proved hugely beneficial to many firms. To this day, access to talent remains a key requirement.
Dublin, like the main cities of many countries, is attractive as a destination but also faces disadvantages with access to the required workforce and adequate places for them to live often proving a challenge.
As the quality of life becomes more and more important for skilled workers, companies are most likely to respond and make sure they locate where the cost of living is reasonable. In the past year. Chicago firm Tegus said it was locating its EMEA headquarters in Waterford. It picked the South East over Dublin for a range of issues including quality of life.
Access to education has always been a key factor. The presence of a range of third-level institutions across the southern region is regularly referenced by US firms locating here. University College Cork, University of Limerick, the Munster Technological University and the soon to be merged Technological University for the South East all have strong connections with industry.
Last year John Collison of US payments giant Stripe joined with other companies to partner with UL for a new software engineering course to meet increased global demand for developer talent. It one example of a range of partnerships between education and industry.
From manufacturing through to pharmaceutical, medical technology and now technology the level of investment in Ireland by US companies continues today. Last year 260 US firms made investments in Ireland with the support of the IDA. This far outweighs the 68 investments by companies in Europe and 21 from other countries around the globe.
More recent expansions and acquisitions into Ireland by US companies include:
In June, Illinois-headquartered firm Horizon Therapeutics announced that it had acquired Waterford company Eirgen. The US firm, which focuses on medicines to treat rare, autoimmune and severe inflammatory diseases has had its Global Headquarters in Dublin since 2014 and this is the company’s first move directly into manufacturing. Eirgen’s 40 staff have moved to Horizon and the company plans to add a further 50 over the coming year.
Listed in the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York and headquartered in Wisconsin, Fiserv announced in June that it will expand its research and development operations in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, Ireland, adding 200 jobs over the next three years. Fiserv is a payments and financial services technology company. It first began operations in Nenagh in 2017.
Arizona-headquartered technology firm Microchip Technology is to establish a new development centre in Cork that will create up to 200 engineering jobs. The company is investing $20m in its operations here. It also plans close partnerships with Irish universities that will enable the Microchip development centre to offer internships and collaborate on key next-generation initiatives.
US data security and analytics firm Varonis announced the opening of its new and expanded office space in Cork City at Penrose Dock. Varonis is expected to double its employee headcount, creating approximately 60 jobs – ranging from tech support, research and development, human resources, and sales – over the next three years. The company is headquartered in New York.
OLED Material Manufacturing and PPG, creating 100 high-tech jobs at a new Shannon manufacturing site: Gerry Cahill, PPG Plant Manager, Shannon, Carol Bateman, PPG Global Business Director, Specialty Synthesis Group, Janice K Mahon, Senior VP, Technology Commercialization and General Manager, Commercial Sales Business, UDC, Liam Conneally, Director of Economic Development, Clare County Council, and Austin McCabe, Director, OLED.
A multi-million investment in a new manufacturing facility in Shannon by OLED Material Manufacturing will create up to 100 high-tech jobs. Based in New Jersey OLED Material Manufacturing a subsidiary of New Jersey-based Universal Display Corporation (UDC) is partnering with coatings specialists PPG to increase the production of energy-efficient phosphorescent materials to meet the demands for LED displays and lighting applications.
Bausch + Lomb currently employ over 1,100 people in Waterford, where it has had a manufacturing facility since 1980. The site is a multi-function complex that includes contact lenses and pharmaceutical manufacturing, research and development and surgical support. In July the New Jersey-based company said it was investing €90m and adding 130 new jobs for new production lines that are expected to come on stream in 2023.
Bioprocessing manufacturing company Repligen is to create 130 jobs in the county through a new expansion that is to take place over the next two-and-a-half years as it fits out premises of over 3,000sq m. The facility will serve as a centre of excellence for single-use consumable products used in bioprocessing applications.
The US company is expanding its manufacturing operations here to meet the demand for its bioprocessing products that improve the process of manufacturing drugs. The company has its corporate headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts.
In July, Edwards Lifesciences said it plans to significantly increase its Limerick workforce creating 250 extra roles to manufacture medical devices, which will bring its total workforce in the Mid-West to 850.
The firm has opened its purpose-built €80m manufacturing centre in Castletroy, which will focus on the manufacture of therapies and medical technologies for patients suffering from heart valve disease. Employees will manufacture transcatheter therapies to repair or replace damaged heart valves.
Headquartered in Irving, California, Edwards first established operations in Ireland in 2018 at a facility in the Shannon Freezone investing €80m and already employs 250 people in Limerick. The company announced in 2019 that it was building a purpose-built manufacturing facility in Castletroy that will ultimately employ 600 people. The announcement further increases that number, with the company ultimately planning to employ 850 in Limerick.
Legato Health Technologies (Legato) is doubling its Irish workforce to 120 by mid-2022 with a new R&D Hub in the National Technology Park, Limerick: Rajat Puri, President, Legato, Minister of State with responsibility for Skills and Further Education, Niall Collins, and John Shaw, Country Head, Legato Health Technologies Ireland.
Health technology firm Legato has said it will double its Irish workforce to 120 by mid-2022. The company confirmed 60 jobs when it announced a planned research and development centre in Limerick in September. It said it will now double that number seeking skilled workers, including expert data scientists and artificial intelligence engineers. Founded in 2017 as a fully owned subsidiary of health insurance giant Anthem based in Indiana, Legato helps insurers to reduce costs. The Limerick facility is Legato’s first investment in Europe. The firm has 20,000 employees outside Ireland.
Part of the international Transendia Grou founded in the US in 1931, Metpro announced in November that it was to expand operations in its facility in Tralee. The move will lead to the creation of approximately 15 new jobs over the next three years. Metpro was established in in 1998 and specialises in the provision of sustainable solutions of paper and plastic packaging materials.
US market intelligence firm is to set up its European headquarters in Waterford city with plans to recruit 100 people over two years. Chicago firm Tegus is to expand to the South East to support its growing customer base across Europe, the Middle East and Asia (EMEA). The firm had considered basing its international HQ in Dublin but Waterford was picked following a business case review with South East winning out on a range of issues including the lower cost of living and access to potential staff.