Kieran Mac Sweeney, managing director of Avocent, has been appointed Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce Mid West Region. Speaking at the launch of the Group’s Business Agenda for 2004 on Feb. 16, MacSweeney said, "The Mid West Region and Shannon Free Zone in particular, was the jewel in the crown of Irish industrial development from the 1950s to the 1980s. The foresight for groundbreaking initiatives such as the creation of the tax free zone, the first duty free shop at Shannon airport and the promotion of Shannon as the ‘European Gateway’ gave the Mid West and Ireland a huge advantage in attracting foreign direct investment. 

"As the competition for FDI becomes ever more intensive, we cannot rest on our laurels. Agencies must work to retain the existing level of investment by US Companies in the Mid West as well as ensuring the attractiveness of the Mid West to win future investment. This is vital to the long term success of the Mid West Region."

The American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland launched the business agenda for its Mid West Group as part on its ongoing strategy in supporting US Industry around the country. Collectively, US companies are the largest employers in the Mid West providing employment to over 11,000 people. 

The Mid West group, serving Limerick, Shannon and Clare, encompasses over 75 US companies. Top executives from US industry in the region, including Avocent, Analog, Banta Global Turnkey, Cook Ireland, Dell, G.E. Financial Services, TFX Medical, Wyeth Nutritionals, Microsemi and Maidenform are among the US Companies identifying and driving the agenda for US Investment in the Mid West.

Mac Sweeney welcomed the development of a business strategy for Shannon Airport, saying; "One of the main attractions to many of the major investors located not only in the Mid West, but the entire Western Seaboard, is access to an international airport. There has been a serious decline in the level of service being offered from Shannon, and currently, the airport is not supporting the business needs. Reduced service by carriers and ill timed flight schedules means that companies based in the Mid West cannot easily connect to the major business cities in Europe, cannot attract potential customers to their companies and cannot air freight goods in a timely manner. 

"The development of a Business Strategy for Shannon Airport must be a priority and we warmly welcome the recent initiatives from the Minister of Transport in establishing a newly appointed board of directors to Shannon Airport. We recognise there are legalities and challenges to be finalised but would encourage the Government to ensure that the new board have autonomy and support to implement its business strategies at the earliest possible time. A sense of urgency is needed as the current ambivalent situation cannot continue."

Mac Sweeney said that the decline of service being offered to the business traveller from Shannon Airport reinforced the view among companies in the Mid West that the region was being overlooked.

The Mid West has not developed as a strong clustering region for attracting flows of investment in specific sectors. The South, for example, has attracted a heavy concentration of investment from the pharmaceutical Industry while the West has developed as a location for healthcare and biotechnology investment. The key strengths of the Mid West is an International Airport and a world class university. In particular, the strength and resources available in UL are an invaluable resource in driving the Region forward, particularly in the advanced technology sectors, as evidenced by the Mid West being an anchor for the Atlantic Technology Corridor. 

Joanne Richardson, chief executive of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland said, "The issues which are highlighted by our Mid West group reflect the concerns of American Chamber members in other regions. Although much progress has been made under the National Development Plan, a significant transport infrastructure deficit remains. Here in the Mid West major infrastructure is needed to improve the road network between Shannon, Limerick, Dublin and Galway. The NDP needs closer planning, costing and coordination and the Government must continue to pursue strategies for improvement. Infrastructure improvement in the regions need to be accelerated if we are to continue to attract investment and achieve balanced industrial development throughout Ireland." 

On the subject of costs and competitiveness she added, "as long as we retain the ability to perform higher value add activity and deliver higher productivity, a higher cost base can be justified. However, the key will be to ensure that we remain mid table in terms of costs. High Technology and Innovation driven industries still have to compete on costs with other locations and we cannot afford huge increases in our cost base. Recent increases in the costs of telecommunications; utilities, insurance and transport are what make Ireland an expensive place to do business.

"The year 2004 will be one of challenge and opportunity for US companies in Ireland. However US Industry continues to make a major contribution to regional development and to the overall success of the Irish economy. The American Chamber of Commerce is committed to supporting US industry throughout the country and has now established five regions in Ireland encompassing over 250 US Companies. Collectively these companies support over 45,000 jobs and are the largest group of employers around the country". 

She added; "Ireland remains one of the stronger and more vibrant economies in Europe. While much has been made recently of the perceived threat to Ireland of the new member states joining the EU, I believe that we will continue to remain an attractive location for higher value investment from US companies. We will however have to market ourselves more aggressively to secure this investment. This is a priority for the American Chamber and together with IDA Ireland we have been working with member companies to identify how we can best attract this investment to Ireland." 

The US remains the single largest source of inward investment in Ireland. Today almost 90,000 people are employed in 570 US companies in Ireland, accounting for 65% of all IDA supported employment. Almost a quarter of all new green-field US investment into Europe comes to Ireland. US investment is crucial to Ireland’s current and future success, both as an investor and a significant trading partner.
 
 

For more information about the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland, check its website at http://www.amcham.ie