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Irish innovation in high demand across the Nordic region, with Enterprise Ireland client exports to the region at a record high at €1.24bn in 2021, up 31% on 2020
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20 Enterprise Ireland clients have established new presences in Denmark since the end of 2019 – Irish company Skanstec Engineering announce new office opening in Denmark today
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The Nordic region is an attractive source for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) across a number of business sectors into Ireland.
Dublin, Wednesday, 30th November 2022: Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar T.D., today will commence a three-day Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland trade mission to Denmark. Visiting Copenhagen and Herning for Agromek, Northern Europe’s largest agricultural trade fair, over 60 Irish and Danish companies will participate on the trade mission, with the aim of boosting further business collaboration between Ireland and Denmark and promoting Ireland as a world class business location.
Leading the trade mission, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar T.D, said: “The trade mission comes at a crucial time for collaboration between Danish and Irish businesses and investment by Irish companies in Denmark. Since my last visit, at the end of 2019, 20 Irish companies have established a new presence in Denmark. Today, we mark the announcement that Irish company Skanstec Engineering is opening a new office in Denmark. Denmark is a country that leads globally in the transition to renewable energy, digitalisation and sustainability. We can learn a lot from Denmark and there is much we can do together. Increasingly Irish companies are finding innovative solutions and partnering with Danish companies on the innovation agenda. We look forward to further accelerating this collaboration for the mutual benefit of both of our countries.”
Since Enterprise Ireland opened an office in Copenhagen in 2019, 20 Enterprise Ireland client companies have established new presences in Denmark. Irish innovation, particularly technology, high-tech construction and agribusiness exports are in high demand in Denmark and across the Nordic region, with Enterprise Ireland client exports to the region at a record high at €1.24bn in 2021, up 31% on 2020. 560 Enterprise Ireland client companies are exporting to the Nordics region with 328 exporting to Denmark.
IDA Ireland has 37 clients from the Nordic region operating across Ireland, employing 3,550 people in a diversified sectoral base such as financial services, consumer business services, life sciences, engineering, renewable energy and software.
Enterprise Ireland client exports to Denmark have grown particularly strongly in the area of high-tech construction. Over 50 Irish companies are delivering on datacenter projects across the Nordics. The Nordics is also a key export market for Irish agribusiness.
Key highlights of the trade mission include:
- Visit to Agromek, meeting the Chairman and Board members of the agricultural trade fair and meeting 8 Irish companies exhibiting at the event and their Danish partners
- Over 60 Irish and Danish business representatives to attend business reception in Copenhagen
- Meeting with Danish leading green energy major Ørsted and two of their Irish innovation partners XOCEAN and Vilicom
- A visit to a high-tech construction site, with John Sisk & Son, one of Ireland’s leading construction and engineering companies, who is delivering a vital piece of infrastructure for a global technology company. This is one of a number of projects Sisk is involved in across Scandinavia and Europe in the tech and life sciences sector.
Coinciding with the trade mission, Skanstec Engineering, an Enterprise Ireland client company have announced further expansion in Denmark and the wider Nordic Region. A specialist engineering company in the Energy & Telecommunications Sector, Skanstec Engineering today announced the opening of their new office in Denmark to strengthen their footprint in Northern Europe and have secured two new contracts in Sweden.
Marina Donohoe, Enterprise Ireland’s Regional Director for the UK and the Nordics, said “We are seeing high demand for Irish innovation in the Nordics, with exports increasing by 31% in 2021 to €1.24bn, particularly in areas of high-tech construction, agribusiness, technology, medtech and pharma. The Nordics is now a key export market for Irish agribusiness, and we will look to build on this at Agromek, a very important agricultural trade event in Northern Europe.”
Speaking about the trade mission, Bernard Smith, Director of Europe, IDA Ireland said “This trade and investment mission is a terrific opportunity to promote Ireland as a world class business location and very much open for business, despite the current global challenges. Attracting new investment from the Nordic region is a strategic focus for IDA in Europe. This mission plays an important role in deepening our relationships with key decision makers from leading companies in the region in order to win new investments for Ireland. It’s wonderful to have this opportunity to meet with our Danish clients in market and to share the strong message that Ireland is an excellent location choice for those investors considering establishing and expanding operations to serve their customer base in Europe and globally.”
Welcoming the trade visit to Ørsted, Kieran White, VP Europe Onshore Ørsted, said: “As a leading green energy major, I’m delighted to welcome Tánaiste Leo Varadkar to our global headquarters in Copenhagen. Ireland is a key market for Ørsted where we have a growing team of over 90 people and have invested over €500million to date in 360MW of renewable energy generation. We look forward to continuing this investment with ambitious plans for further growth across wind, solar and storage. Ørsted’s partnership with Xocean and Vilicom showcases the level of innovation that Irish companies can bring to this fast-paced growth sector. With a strong approach to regulation and markets, Ireland can continue to innovate, create economic value and play a leading role in Europe’s drive for secure and clean energy.”