Jobs and investment hope from ambitious Irish firms

TWO dozen Irish software and services companies are taking part in a trade mission to the North West in October, with some looking to set up new offices and grow in the region.

If the event is a success, it is expected to stimulate investment in the region and provide opportunities for businesses to access new products and services that help to improve efficiency, customer satisfaction and data security while reducing overheads.

The 24 companies taking part in the Enterprise Ireland North West Trade Mission provide services ranging from the outsourcing of IT to illicit image checking on company networks.

Enterprise Ireland is the trade and export organisation of the Irish government, and works with companies to help grow their exports around the world.

The trade mission will take place between October 7 and 9, with networking events in Manchester and Liverpool, enabling companies to have short one-to-one meetings with representatives of the Irish firms.

The Manchester event will take place at the Mercure Manchester Piccadilly hotel, Portland Street, from 9.30am on Monday, October 7.

The Liverpool event will take place at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Old Hall Street, from 9.30am on Wednesday,  October 9.

Leading the initiative is Enterprise Ireland’s Gavin McWhirter, who said: “This trade mission provides a unique opportunity for companies in the North West to forge new working relationships that could provide them with real business advantages.

“It is our experience that companies securing new contracts in a region of the UK often go on to open an office in the local area, and then employ local sales, support and marketing people to help the business grow.”

The Manchester and Liverpool speed business networking events are being organised by Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) North West UK.

The Irish companies visiting the North West include Celtrak, which can help businesses to track deliveries in real time around the world – ensuring perishable goods arrive on time – and Cut-e, a company which combines psychometrics, online tests and questionnaires with innovative technology in order to assess, select, recruit and develop people in businesses across the world.

Other companies sending representatives to the region include Auxilion, a supplier of IT support and outsourcing; and PixAlert, which protects corporate reputations and brand integrity by using data discovery software to find and manage data and illicit images that should not be on a company’s network.

Companies interested in  speed networking meetings should visit www.eenw.org/ireland for more details of the Irish companies taking part in the Trade Mission and to register. Information about the North West trade mission is being shared on Twitter via the hashtag #GetSetNorthWest