29 Irish Companies Target £20m US West Coast Sales Kitt Leads High-Tech Trade and Partnership Mission Enterprise Ireland Predicts £50 Million in Export Sales Over Four Years

Mr. Tom Kitt T.D., Minister for International Trade, this weekend, is leading Ireland's most ambitious technology trade and partnership mission to the US West Coast. Twenty-nine Irish software and electronics companies are targeting £20 million additional sales in a drive by Enterprise Ireland to rapidly grow the numbers of companies doing business in the USA through alliances, technology transfer deals, and direct sales. The companies on the mission provide leading edge niche products and services in e-commerce, electronics, localisation and business applications.

According to Minister Kitt the West Coast of America is the world's leading market for innovative, high technology niche products. "This makes it a key target market for our vibrant and rapidly growing high tech sector. Silicon Valley in particular is unique in its preparedness to do business with small, relatively unknown companies from outside the United States. We want to grasp the opportunities presented and this is the purpose of this week's mission," the Minister said.

"There are now more than 30 Irish companies with operations in the Western United States, primarily in the Bay Area and this number is expected to increase significantly over the next three years. Last year Enterprise Ireland opened a Trade & Technology Centre in Campbell in the heart of California's Silicon Valley to provide an initial market presence for client companies to grow their exports of high tech and other industrial products in the region and to identify strategic alliance opportunities," the Minister said.

Dan Flinter, Chief Executive Officer, Enterprise Ireland, predicted that over the next four years export sales by client companies in the region will grow by £50 million. "Two key drivers of this growth will be an increase in the numbers of companies exporting for the first time, and an increase in the numbers of companies with a presence in the marketplace. This mission is an important part of our strategy to grow sales and exports by our client companies" Dan Flinter said.

The companies participating in the technology trade and business partnership mission are: Anord Control Systems; Avatar Works; AV Edge; C&F Tooling; Card Services International; Cell Media; Chip Electronics; Dataedge; ESIL; Flextime; FMS; Hitech Plating; Integral Design; Interact SI; ITSD; Labyrinth; Longview Technologies; MDS Telephone Systems; Netnote International; OMC; Opsis; Pressco Jig & Tool; Realtime Technologies; Sherkin Technologies; Trinity Commerce; Telekinesys; Vistatec; Qumas; and Softworks Computing.