27th September 2018
Three Enterprise Ireland backed companies today announced significant new contract wins with Scottish partners and expansion in the UK market during Enterprise Ireland’s trade mission to Scotland this week. Led by Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD, the two-day trade mission to Scotland to support Irish companies to consolidate and sustain exports to the UK.
Taking place this week 26-27 September, the trade mission which is the largest trade mission undertaken by Enterprise Ireland to the UK since the Brexit vote, aims to deepen existing relations and grow market opportunities between Ireland and Scotland, particularly within construction, agritech, financial services and off-shore wind sectors. Enterprise Ireland brought 56 Irish companies to participate in trade discussions; highlighting strong business prospects, as well as confirming the scope and scale of the opportunities in the country.
New contracts include:
• Central Solutions signed a 2-year partnership agreement with ABP Food Group
• IDASO opens office in Edinburgh
• Over-C and O2 announce five-year UK technology partnership with ScotRail
Witnessing the contract signings during the Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Scotland, Irish Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD said; “I welcome today’s new business and expansion announcements which reflect the strong partnership opportunities for Irish and Scottish business. As Brexit negotiations progress, uncertainties remain for both Scottish and Irish companies and this has reinforced the need for us to strengthen our dialogue and interaction at company and Government level. Throughout the mission, we are engaging with senior officials and decision makers to further strengthen ties between our two countries.”
Commenting on the new Irish Scottish partnerships, Marina Donohoe, Enterprise Ireland Director of the UK and Northern Europe, said: “Scotland and Ireland have always had strong trade ties and we welcome the new business and expansion progress which reflect the growing opportunities for Irish businesses across Scotland. Aligned with our market diversification strategy, Enterprise Ireland is supporting Irish companies to extend their customer range and geographic footprint in the UK. Our trade mission to Scotland this week, reflects the strong appetite from Irish companies to continue to grow their customer base and diversify across the UK.”
Central Solutions Signs Partnership Agreement with ABP Food Group
Limerick-based water tech firm Central Solutions and food giant ABP Food Group have signed a partnership agreement which will see the deployment of the Central Solutions innovative water stewardship tools across ABP Scottish and UK sites over the coming two years to deliver cost efficiencies and improved environmental compliance. This expands on previous collaboration between Central Solutions and ABP Food Group in Ireland where the partners successfully delivered the first ever European Water Stewardship Multisite Standard implementation in the world and which saw ABP Food Group achieve a Gold certification across all its Irish Sites in 2017.
IDASO Opens Office in Edinburgh
IDASO (Innovative Data Solutions), specialists in traffic data collection has announced that it is opening its first office in Edinburgh this October. Traditionally a highly laborious task of manually counting and classifying traffic, IDASO has revolutionised the process by applying artificial intelligence to extracting this data from CCTV footage. Working with customers including consulting engineers and local authorities who require base line data for traffic impact assessments and retailers looking to better understand their footfall and traffic at existing and potential site locations, IDASO’s new Edinburgh office will support the future growth of the company in the UK market.
Over-C and O2 Announce New Five-year UK Technology Partnership with ScotRail
Over-C, the Irish data and analytics technology company, and O2, a leading digital communications company unveiled details of its new five-year technology partnership with the announcement of its first UK client, ScotRail, Scotland’s national rail service provider. The technology partnership enables O2 to offer Over-C’s digital transformation solution to new and existing clients in the UK, under the name O2 Smart Compliance. ScotRail, which manages more than 350 stations across Scotland and employs over 5,000 people, has signed a five-year agreement to use O2 Smart Compliance, as part of their commitment to increase safety and facilitate compliance.
For Scotland and Ireland, exports in each direction have increased by over one hundred per cent since 2012 and in 2017 Irish-Scottish trade exceeded £1.8 billion, up by 130 per cent over the last five years. Ireland is also the fourth largest Foreign Direct Investor in Scotland. Over the last year alone, the Fintech exports of Enterprise Ireland clients to Scotland grew by 12%.
Given the close proximity of the markets and shared business culture, the arrival of this Irish delegation in Scotland reaffirms the importance placed on strengthening trade relationships, particularly in the current Brexit climate. The two-day mission emphasised the opportunity for increased collaboration between the two countries and facilitated Irish and Scottish companies to explore areas of potential collaboration and power future economic growth between both countries.
Focused on Glasgow and Edinburgh as well as at various other sites around the country, including a visit to the Enterprise Ireland client Glennon Brothers’, state-of-the-art timber facility in Troon. Seminars, roundtables and networking events covered themes including environmental performance, innovation in Asset & Wealth management and the changing landscape of Scottish Farming.
Over the course of the two days Minister Humphreys also met Scottish Ministers Derek Mackay, Ivan McKee and Paul Wheelhouse.
Ends
For reference, please contact:
Marika MacCarvill, International PR, Enterprise Ireland
00 353 86 171 2569 / marika.maccarvill@enterprise-ireland.com
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