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Engineering

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

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

Success Stories: Hear from leaders calling Ireland home

A proven path

See all Success Stories
Johnson Controls
AMD
Supermetrics
State Street
eSentire
SAP
In 2022, the HQ opened a new R&D facility focused on sustainable technologies

In 2022, the HQ opened a new R&D facility focused on sustainable technologies

I am proud of how Johnson Controls is leading the way in sustainable innovation and I am particularly proud of how OpenBlue solutions and services are transforming buildings to help businesses, communities and governments to reach their net zero goals.
AMD presence in Ireland dates back to 1994 via Xilinx acquisition

AMD presence in Ireland dates back to 1994 via Xilinx acquisition

For nearly three decades, Ireland has been a flagship European R&D centre developing adaptive computing solutions, drawing from a strong and highly-skilled workforce. By further investing and expanding our presence in Dublin and Cork, we are committed to continuing to both drive innovation in Ireland and to support the European semiconductor ecosystem.

Ireland’s attractiveness helped by how it brings people from across Europe to work

Ireland’s attractiveness helped by how it brings people from across Europe to work

Dublin is ideal for the rich pool of talent, with significant technology literacy: people who have extensive experience either selling similar solutions, or – equally importantly – selling to similar types of customers. That really accelerates our ability to identify and hire the talent, bring them into the business and get them to a point of productivity very, very quickly. You don’t get that in other places.
Continued expansion at four Irish sites over 20+ years

Continued expansion at four Irish sites over 20+ years

Ireland’s tech ecosystem and financial services credentials alongside Kilkenny’s central location and access to talent from third level institutions in Dublin, Carlow, Waterford and beyond were all compelling factors in our location decision
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.

Strong growth over decades at software giant’s Irish operations

Strong growth over decades at software giant’s Irish operations

On the occasion of SAP celebrating 25 years in Ireland I would like to thank the Ireland Leadership team and all SAP Ireland employees in Dublin and Galway for their expertise, flexibility, motivation and exceptional customer focus. Over the past 25 years we have helped guide customers and partners on their transformation journeys and as SAP celebrates its 50th anniversary globally we look forward to helping even more customers run better and improving people’s lives.
Find your European home

Find your European home

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