Exports from the Shannon Region are contributing in a major way to the national economy.
This is highlighted in the 2014 edition of Top 250 Exporters in Ireland and Northern Ireland, published this week by the Irish Exporters Association (IEA), in association with Investec, a leading specialist bank and wealth and investment manager.
The report highlights that eight companies in Shannon exported goods to the value of €1.5 billion across the ICT and life sciences sector in 2013.
Google Ireland Ltd (Google) was named the largest exporting company, moving up one place from its previous year’s ranking. Google was followed by Microsoft Ireland Ltd (2nd, export turnover of €15bn), Johnson & Johnson (3rd, export turnover of €10.5bn), Dell Products (4th, export turnover of €8.6bn) and Smurfit Kappa Group (5th, export turnover of €7.3bn).
Among the top exporters in the Shannon region are:
1. Phardiag Limited (ranked 69th): Life Sciences, €413m exports
2. Mentor Graphics Ireland (78): ICT, €353m exports
3. Element Six Ltd (103): General, €216m exports
4. Zimmer Orthopedics Manufacturing Limited (122): Life Sciences, €175m exports
5. UCB Manufacturing Ireland Limited (125): Life Sciences, €107m exports
6. Extreme Networks Ire Ltd (163): ICT, €104m exports
7. EI Electronics (169): ICT, €100m exports
8. GE Sensing EMEA (207): General, €53m exports
Simon McKeever, chief executive, Irish Exporters Association, said, “It is no surprise that overall the ICT sector continues to perform as the leading export sector in the industry. The sector houses nine of the top 10 global software companies and 10 of the top global internet companies (all with strategic operations) in Ireland.
“It is one of the country’s most prevalent employers, directly employing over 80,000 people. Total exports from the sector within the top 250 grew by 3% in the past year maintaining Ireland’s place as a leading exporter of computer and IT services in the world. Of the Top 20 companies listed, eight of them are focused within the ICT arena.”
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.