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Why Ireland for engineering investment

  • Ireland is the European location of choice for growing numbers of industrial engineering and technology companies in manufacturing, research and innovation

  • Principal industry sectors include automotive, aerospace, chemicals and advanced materials, automation and industrial technology

Source the skills you need to make your investment in Ireland a success

Connect with us

Source the skills you need to make your investment in Ireland a success

Connect with us
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Leading Industry Names

Ireland’s strong and vibrant engineering industry supports a broad range of companies across many industries. It includes names like Liebherr, Henkel, Element Six, Sulzer and Thermoking. The sector contributes more than €5.6 billion annually to Irish exports.

  • The top eight industrial automation companies
  • Four of the top 10 global engineering design firms
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A Proven Track Record

Ireland has been attracting engineering companies for more than 50 years. Recently, many have expanded their operations to serve EMEA markets. Ireland is also developing into a hub for cutting-edge fields such as IoT, Industry 5.0, Connected Autonomous Vehicles and more.

  • 250+ industrial technology and engineering companies in Ireland
  • 23,000+ people employed in the engineering sector
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Cutting-Edge Research

Ireland is an attractive location for researching new technologies, with 42% of engineering companies in Ireland already engaging in R&D activity. Ireland’s industry-led research centres specialise in areas like advanced materials, smart manufacturing and industrial automation.

  • Active R&D in emerging technologies
  • World-class research centres with strong industry focus
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Strong Talent Pipeline

Engineering companies locating or expanding in Ireland can avail of skilled talent including recent graduates and staff already working in the sector. Ireland’s EU membership provides unrestricted access to a labour pool of more than 240 million people.

  • 45,000 third-level students enrolled in STEM fields at any one time
  • Ireland ranks first in the world for productivity in industry (OECD)
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Ready for Disruption

As Industry 5.0 trends reshape engineering and manufacturing, IDA Ireland client companies are already working on R&D projects in augmented reality, industrial IoT, robotics and automation to enhance and optimise their manufacturing operations.

  • Government support for feasibility investigations to digitisation projects
  • 25% tax credit for all qualifying R&D activity

We selected Dublin because of its global business environment, talent, ability to support European languages, excellent long-term cost structure, and quality of life for employees. Dublin is a vibrant, multicultural and creative city. These qualities align well with our brand and culture and we think Dublin will be a great fit for us.

See similar companies in Ireland

Schneider
ElementSix
Pilz
Honeywell
Abbott
GM
Henkel
Airbus Helicopters
United Technologies
Valeo
Siemens
GE
DuPont
Liebherr
Ingersoll
Enernoc
Aptiv
Jaguar

Success Stories: Hear from leaders calling Ireland home

A proven path

See all Success Stories
eSentire
Regeneron
Mediolanum
Pfizer
Northern Trust
Vanta
 eSentire's Cork site has become a service delivery centre of excellence and now employs 52 people

eSentire's Cork site has become a service delivery centre of excellence and now employs 52 people

There’s a global shortage of cybersecurity professionals, it’s well documented that it’s very hard to hire and retain cybersecurity professionals. We’ve been able to hire very high-quality talent, who are doing a great job. There’s a very strong work ethic and culture here, eSentire has several very, very strong partnerships, and I emphasise the word ‘partnership’. A good example is Munster Technological University: they have what I would describe as the leading programme in cybersecurity in Ireland, hands down.

Biologics leader scales rapidly across two strategic sites in Ireland

Biologics leader scales rapidly across two strategic sites in Ireland

In order to make space in our New York facilities to accommodate our COVID-19 efforts, we needed to ramp-up capacity here in Limerick. Despite ramping up commercial production sooner than planned, my team hasn’t missed a beat. You can only perform like this if you have good people, and Ireland has lots of good people, so we are excited to be hiring 400 more.

The European asset management HQ for the group set up in Dublin in 1997

The European asset management HQ for the group set up in Dublin in 1997

What makes the Irish ecosystem unique from other financial services centres in Europe is the breadth of different types of companies and businesses in the financial services industry, paired with the presence of a massive technology cohort. The location has helped a lot of cross-pollination and access to talent with the mindset of the tech companies. Today, financial services companies must become tech companies; you need these cultures blending together if you want to stay relevant.

Leading global player has invested $9 bn+ in Irish operations

Leading global player has invested $9 bn+ in Irish operations

Pharmaceutical manufacturing in Ireland continues to perform very well contributing strongly to exports and economic growth and provides excellent career opportunities.

Ireland is one of Northern Trust’s largest fund servicing centres in Europe

Ireland is one of Northern Trust’s largest fund servicing centres in Europe

The support of IDA Ireland has been – and continues to be – an important enabler for our operations in Ireland. The IDAs partnership enhances our ability to scale, invest and compete. We have been working closely with the IDA since 2006 to support our growth.

Vanta is a startup focused on automating cybersecurity compliance

Vanta is a startup focused on automating cybersecurity compliance

We have a talent pool that allows us to serve a large population in a very effective way, both with language and specialisation skills like sales or customer success.

Find your European home

Find your European home