Companies in the Border region between Louth and Armagh should conclude 12 manufacturing under licence agreements with US and Canadian firms over the next year as a result of initiatives by enterprise agencies in the area.
Representatives from 20 firms will visit the US and Canada as part of two trade missions facilitated by the Louth County Enterprise Board and the Newry and Mourne Enterprise Agency. The visits will form part of the second Product Transfer Programme, an initiative of the two agencies. The programme aims to initiate strategic partnerships between Irish and US and Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises.
"Our objective is to conclude five export agreements as a result of these trade missions," said Mr Ronan Dennedy, chief executive of the Louth board.
The catchment area for the second programme now includes Down, Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon to complement Newry and Mourne and Louth.
"It's a cost effective way for companies, which wouldn't have the resources, to develop and patent products," said Mr Dennedy. He was at the Do Business in Ireland trade mission yesterday where more than 20 US and Canadian firms were represented at the two-day, cross-Border mission. It was hosted by both agencies.
