£4.4 Million Investment to Create 145 New Jobs for Portlaoise – Tánaiste

Mary Harney, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment announced today (Wednesday 8th November 2000) that ebm Industries Inc. of the US, a subsidiary of the ebm Group of Germany, the world’s leading manufacturer of external rotor fans and blowers, is to invest £4.4 million, with the support of IDA Ireland, in the establishment of a facility in Portlaoise, Co. Laois, which will create 145 new jobs over five years.

The new facility - ebm Ireland Limited – will manufacture cooling systems, which are fan and blower assemblies with the associated control circuitry fully integrated, for use in the electronics and telecommunications industries.

Making the announcement the Tánaiste said "Recruitment is to commence immediately and operations will get underway in temporary accommodation in the town, while ebm’s own high quality custom designed 40,000 sq. ft. building is constructed at the new IDA Ireland Business Park. The new jobs will be for a mix of semi-skilled sheet metal fabrication and assembly operatives, application engineers, account managers, customer support specialists and administration staff".

ebm Ireland Limited will provide manufacturing, application design and technical support services to the European operations of ebm’s existing multinational customers – these include IBM, Hewlett Packard, Lucent, EMC and Nortel. It is also the intention to develop new customers among European global companies.

The Tánaiste said "this investment is good news for Portlaoise and the surrounding area and it will be a major boost for the local economy. The Laois Task Force, which was established to find new industries for the County, is to be congratulated for its close work with IDA Ireland which has resulted in this outcome."

The market for integrated cooling systems was created by the decision of the large US electronics and telecommunications companies to out-source complex sub-assemblies rather than just single components. This led ebm Industries Inc, the Group’s US subsidiary, into the value added business of designing and manufacturing such systems. These systems, incorporating the ebm Group’s fans and blowers, involve the specification and manufacture of the necessary housings, electronic controls, cable assemblies and printed circuit boards, together with final assembly and test. The Tánaiste said "that IDA Ireland is continuing to market Co. Laois and will continue to work closely with the other members of the Laois Task Force and with the local community, to attract further investment. In Portlaoise, at IDA Ireland’s 38 acre Business Park, which is being developed in co-operation with Laois County Council, the 27,000 sq. ft. Advance Factory is generating a high level of interest which IDA is pursuing. Also at the Business Park, construction of IDA’s 15,000 sq. ft. high quality office building is to commence shortly, following the successful conclusion of the planning process earlier this week".

ebm Group of Germany was founded in 1963 and it now employs 7,000 people worldwide. Its US subsidiary, ebm Industries Inc., was founded in 1981 and has recorded sales growth in excess of 30% for each of the past three years. It targets the niche markets that require solutions to meet more complex airflow requirements and cooling needs. ebm’s products take account of factors such as noise efficiency, energy consumption and space constraints, which are addressed by the external rotor motor it produces, compared to the design of conventional electric motors. In addition the ebm units are more compact, more robust and easier to integrate.