Troy leads Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland visit to North America
Robert Troy TD, Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, has begun a five-day trade and investment visit to Canada and the United States covering Toronto, Montréal, Boston and New York.
The trade visit, organised by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland, aims to boost trade collaboration and support an accelerated export-led recovery of Irish businesses in international markets.
Thirty Irish companies will be taking part in the trade visit, from Westmeath, Carlow, Cork, Dublin, Louth, Monaghan, Tipperary and Waterford.
This is the first in-person trade visit to North America undertaken by Enterprise Ireland since the onset of Covid-19.
Over the last 24 months, some 150 Enterprise Ireland client companies have set up a new presence on the ground in North America, in areas such as digital technology, healthcare, agritech, cleantech and fintech.
In 2020, the combined US and Canadian markets represented 18pc of total Enterprise Ireland client exports, and exports reaching almost €4.5bn to the North American region.
Over the five-day trade visit, Minister Troy will meet senior executives from finance, healthcare, education, and technology sectors among others, supporting the growth of 30 Enterprise Ireland client companies and reaffirming Ireland as an ideal location for Canadian and American companies to establish and grow.
Minister Troy said: “I am delighted to be leading the Enterprise Ireland/IDA Ireland trade visit to the USA and Canada. The trade visit will focus on key growth opportunities and collaboration with both markets, supporting early entrants and established Irish companies to expand key business relationships with their North American counterparts.
“Ireland’s continued contribution to FDI in both Canada and United States, almost €10 billion and $240 billion respectively, highlights the depth of the economic ties we have with both countries. With nearly 170,000 people employed by Canadian and US companies in Ireland, this further demonstrates the mutually beneficial and vital trade links we have with these major markets.
“Throughout this visit, I will be engaging with key decision-makers in government and industry to promote the innovative capabilities and competitive offers of Irish companies. Trade and collaboration with these international markets is crucial to Ireland’s recovery as we rebuild after Covid-19.”
During the visit Minister Troy will officially open the new Enterprise Ireland Montréal office. Montréal is the fifth most rapidly growing metropolitan area in North America.
Coinciding with the trade visit, a number of Irish business announcements will be made:
Canadian market announcements:
• Swoop Funding launch in the Canadian market following successful launches in the UK and Australia.
• Louth-based XOCEAN, which recently secured €8m in investment, will expand their team in Canada with the appointment of a new country manager. Canada has the longest shoreline in the world and offers a significant market for hydrographic data collection in addition to being a nexus to the high growth, North American offshore wind market. Xocean are expecting to more than triple revenue in Canada in 2021.
• Keenan/Alltech announces an extensive new partner network in Québec – with seven new partners for sales and servicing across the province for its sustainable farming solutions.
• Combilift continues its growth in Canada, securing new contracts with GFL Environmental and Aosom in Ontario and QTG in Québec.
• Multihog, a leader in the multi-purpose tractor and sweeper fields, has just announced a new deal with Ville de Laval for nine additional machines, valued at CAD1.3 million. The machines will join Laval’s existing fleet of 18 Multihogs, making Ville de Laval the largest owner and operator of Multihogs in the world.
• Identifying Canada as a key growth market for its range of agricultural attachments, ProDig has announced the appointment of two import and distribution companies, North Valley Equipment (BC and AB) and Harco Ag (ON), to handle their agri-equipment sales across Canada.
USA market announcements
• Meditec Medical, who provide therapeutic support surfaces to hospitals, have signed a partnership agreement with Premier Healthcare Alliance in the United States to act as preferred supplier to Premier’s extensive network of children’s hospitals for their KIINDO pressure reducing mattress.
• Meditec Medical have signed an agreement for the supply of their new Nest Cushion to Boston Children’s Hospital, in addition to their existing relationship with Boston Children’s Hospital to manufacture and supply their Mediflex pressure relief mattresses to its entire hospital network.
• PacSana has announced a pilot with Visiting Nurse and Community Care (VNCC) in Massachusetts, to incorporate PacSana’s home monitoring technology into VNCC’s offering for senior citizens. PacSana’s technology includes a monitoring bracelet and communications gateway providing real time data on its clients. The pilot is one of six customer pilots and projects that PacSana have developed in Massachusetts in 2021.