Address by Mr. Noel Treacy T.D., Minister for Science, Technology and Commerce at the Official Opening of Saville Systems new building, IDA Business Park, Dangan in Galway on Thursday 24th June, 1999

I am delighted to be here today to officially open Saville System’s new building here in Dangan, Galway

Saville Systems has grown in seventeen years, from a small start-up company in Edmonton, Canada to a company with a significant presence in the rapidly growing arena of telecommunications software with world-wide sales of approximately $125 million and to-day employs 1,400 people across the globe.

Saville is operating at the heart of technology that enables telecommunications companies to provide what is known as convergent billing - the ability to issue one invoice for all types of telecoms traffic such as phone, fax, mobile, data etc.

Since its start-up here in Galway in 1994, the company has grown to approximately 200 people. The new building which we are officially opening today will accommodate some existing staff as well as cater for the longer term growth of the operation here in Galway.

I read with interest the announcement on Monday last, 21st June 1999, that ADC Telecommunications from Minneapolis, Minnesota is to acquire Saville Systems.

ADC is a 1.5 billion global supplier of voice, video and data systems and software for telecommunications networks and to-day has 9,600 employees world-wide.

The proposed acquisition of Saville Systems will mark ADC’s third significant software company acquisition in the past three years. ADC acquired NewNet. Inc (Shelton, Conn., USA) in 1997 and Metrica Systems Limited (Richmond, Surrey, UK) in 1996. NewNet offers intelligent network communications software. ADC’s Metrica product line includes software products for performance management of both wireline and wireless networks.

In conjunction with the Saville acquisition, ADC will create a new Software Systems Division to be comprised of the Metrica, NewNet and Saville business units. This new division will operate within ADC’s Integrated Solutions Group, which also includes the Systems Integration Division and will focus on the development, deployment and marketing of ADC’s software products world-wide.

I am happy to say also that when Saville Systems went Public on the NASDAQ market in late 1995 it made Galway the headquarters of Saville Systems plc. Indeed the Galway operation is at the very heart of the company’s Research and Development efforts with much of the work being done to increase the technological capacity of Saville being undertaken right here by the Corrib.

Following five years of record-breaking job creation results, IDA Ireland is refocusing its activity with a view to achieving better regional distribution of jobs from new greenfield projects. the new focus specifically aims to deliver more than half of all new jobs from future greenfield projects into the Objective 1 regions. This means increasing the Objective 1 region’s share of jobs from the present level of 25% to 50% of jobs in new grenfield projects.

The IDA Ireland focus on the Objective 1 regions would not diminish the successful job creation record in other regions, because of the volume of new jobs coming mainly from the expansion of existing industries in those regions.

IDA Ireland intensified its focus on achieving better regional distribution of new overseas investments over the past two years and this is beginning to show results. The period ahead requires a more sharply focused regional policy and the new IDA Ireland strategies will help to deliver this.

In the future, IDA Ireland, will undertake a more targeted approach for regional locations. Apart form the job dispersal issue, there is also a need to bring a better mix of industry sectors and higher value industries to some locations, particularly the locations that have not seen the emergence of the modern industries.

IDA Ireland’s internal structure is being re-organised to reflect these changing needs in the Irish economy. Key executives are being charged with responsibility for delivering to specific regions in addition to their traditional responsibility of projects and business development.

IDA Ireland hopes to achieve better balance in job creation by overseas companies across the country, whilst also addressing the need to increase the value and sustainability of overseas companies already established in Ireland.

I am also glad to see that Saville’s outgoing CEO Mr Jack Boyle will assume the position of an ADC Senior Vice-President and remain chairman of Saville. I also wish to heartily congratulate Mr Ollie Daniels on his recent appointment as Vice President of Saville Systems here in Galway. I wish him, his staff and everybody associated with Saville past and present, including the enlarged ADC Group every success in the future.