Electronics

Electronics

Electronics Times
Jan 15, 2001
IRELAND: gateway to Europe.
Rhonda Cornell considers the success story of Ireland's electronics industry
For more than a century, the Republic of Ireland's most notable export was its people as generations of Irish workers fed the industrial development of countries around the globe. This is no longer the case. With a population of 3.8 million, Ireland currently produces almost one- third of all PCs sold throughout Europe and is vying for the top position in Europe's e-commerce broadband markets.
Most of the US's electronics industry leaders are in Ireland and it seems that they are all expanding, whether it's in Dublin or along the country's west coast. In contrast to the Japanese and Asian Rim industries, US multinationals dominate the electronics industry in Ireland, and they are mostly fulfilling European requirements. Since 1980, 40% of all new US investment in European electronics has come to Ireland.
Brian Coll, director of business development at Manufacturers Services (MSL) in Ireland, said: "The companies that come here want a European presence."
For a couple of decades now, Ireland has offered US companies a non- threatening route into Europe, with US-friendly government initiatives, similar labour laws and an English-speaking population - although Gaelic remains the official language.
Analysts state that Ireland's `Celtic Tiger' economy - a title earned by outpacing all other European economies for the past six years, recording a growth rate three times the EU's average - is the result of heavy investment by US electronics companies.
With more than 300 electronics manufacturing companies employing over 30,000 individuals, industry growth in Ireland has averaged 9% a year during the past three years and 15.7% last year, according to Enterprise Ireland.
Similarly, electronics exports grew 23% in the past year. Close to $250m-worth of electronic components are exported from the Republic of Ireland every year. This...