New jobs are to be announced in two companies in Dundalk this morning, increasing employment by 160 in the Co Louth area. One is an expansion of an existing company while the other is the establishment of a new company. Both have IDA support.
One hundred jobs will be created over the next three years by ABB Limited, which currently employs around 100 people in Dundalk and close to 133,000 world-wide in its group of companies in power and automation technologies.
The expansion of its Dundalk operation will be in marketing and research and development (R&D) for the pulp and paper industry.
IDA regional manger Mr Pat Doherty said what ABB is doing in Dundalk, "is the model of what IDA is trying to encourage among its client companies".
"Locating key functions like R&D and marketing in Dundalk will deepen the operation's embeddedness here and make it a key player in the ABB Group," he said.
"If overseas companies are to continue the significant contribution they make to the Irish economy, it is critical that their Irish operations become vital centres in overall group operations," he added.
The Minister for the Marine, Communications and Natural Resources, Mr Dermot Ahern, will confirm the expansion at a news conference today.
He will also announce that Italian software company Finmatica SpA is to establish a licensing operation and multi-lingual technical support centre which will create 60 jobs over the next four years.
Established in Italy in 1978, it is quoted on the Milan stock exchange. The company employs over 900 people in Europe, the US and Australia.
The availability of a skilled workforce in the north-east region was a factor in both companies deciding to locate their new operations in Dundalk according to Mr Ahern.
"These employment opportunities will make a further important contribution to the economy of the town and the surrounding area.
"They will also provide significant high-skilled employment and be flagship models of the newer type of enterprises we want to bring into this region," he said.