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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

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

Success Stories: Hear from leaders calling Ireland home

A proven path

See all Success Stories
Boulder Media
State Street
dōTERRA
Cadence
Blackrock
eSentire
Boulder Media is one of the largest animation studios Ireland

Boulder Media is one of the largest animation studios Ireland

Remaining successful in the thriving global animation industry is largely down to attracting and retaining high quality talent, making the studio the best place to produce a project. Partnering this talent with high quality projects allows Boulder Media to create the best content, entertaining audiences all over the world on a daily basis.

Irish site chosen as one of only two global cybersecurity centres

Irish site chosen as one of only two global cybersecurity centres

We are a strong ecosystem with multiple parties, service providers like ourselves, management companies, commercial law firms, audit firms: it’s the synergy of all the different stakeholders working together… It’s the right balance between everyone having their own commercial imperatives but collaborating across an ecosystem that collectively facilitates growth and expansion.

Company chooses Cork as its first international manufacturing site

Company chooses Cork as its first international manufacturing site

Our presence in Ireland has created employment opportunities for skilled workers, improved our ability to respond to our customers’ needs, and dramatically reduced our environmental impact.

Cork facility designated as European R&D Centre of Excellence

Cork facility designated as European R&D Centre of Excellence

The timing and scale of this Cadence investment is a real boost to Cork’s growing reputation as a specialised R&D hub. Due to our proximity to the University College Cork and Munster Technological University as well as to Ireland’s largest ICT research centre, The Tyndall Institute, the region provides an amazing engineering and computer science talent pool to draw from.

$1.5 trillion of assets under management in its Irish-domiciled funds

$1.5 trillion of assets under management in its Irish-domiciled funds

We find the various government departments very approachable and always open to engaging with the industry, with the IDA a particularly strong partner. The ecosystem is excellent, and by that, I mean not only asset managers but who they interact with, professional services firms, fund service providers and industry associations. They’re arguably the best I know.

 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.

Find your European home

Find your European home