Volex Ltd. establishes Global Centre of Excellence for Fibre Optic Products in Castlebar, Co Mayo

"Development is further evidence of positive economic activity in the region" - Tanaiste

Mary Harney, T.D., Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment announced today (Monday, 8th October, 2001) that Volex Ltd. is to establish, with the support of IDA Ireland, a world class Product Development Center in Castlebar, which will assist in the development of fibre optic capability for the Volex Group worldwide. The company plans to spend €10.5 million over a three year period on the Centre.

In announcing the new development, the Tanaiste said that this was an excellent example of a company initiative in line with Government and IDA strategy to achieve higher value and more research based activities. "This is the way forward for sustainable, quality development of the overseas industry base," she added.

The Product Development Centre will provide support to the individual business units and regions of the Company, for the research and development of optical fibre products. Another objective of the Centre is to develop automated production systems and equipment for fibre optic products. The new Product Development Centre will:

• Continually update the Group's fibre optic strategy
• Design and develop new fibre optic products
• Provide technical support and services to business units and regions in the Group
• Develop standard automated processes for fibre products production
• Provide training in fibre optic technology of products to the Group
• Manage equipment specification and vendors

The proposed project is intended to boost the capability in fibre products and establish Castlebar as a centre of excellence for fibre optic products for the whole Volex Group and also to further assist the Irish operation to move up the value chain. "It is exactly the kind of development IDA wants, to give a new sustained future to well established companies," said the Tanaiste.

Volex Ltd., Castlebar is a subsidiary of Volex Group plc, England. Established in 1987, it is now the headquarters for Volex Europe and currently employs 460 people. Initially the company focused its operations on the manufacturing of cable assemblies but as the I.T. hardware industry developed Volex refocused to cater for the networking/server and telecoms segment of the I.T. industry. Functions being undertaken in Castlebar have been enhanced to include design, prototyping, material procurement, manufacturing and process development. Customers now include Nortel, Ericsson, Bookham Technologies, Lucent, Solectron and Flextronics.

The parent company, Volex Group plc, England is an independent supplier of electronic and electrical cable assemblies to high-tech markets. The group reported sales of €660 million and pre-tax profits of €48.6 million in the year ended 31 March 2001. Over 10,000 people are employed in the group worldwide.

Referring to other economic activity by overseas companies in County Mayo the Tanaiste said that the overall picture was positive, with IDA Ireland working on a systematic development programme over a number of years to achieve sustained growth. Companies such as Baxter, APC, Allergan, Dekko, Ballina Beverages (Coca Cola), Hollister, Delta Dental, Cedar Software and others were all contributing strongly to the balanced mix of employment in the County.

The Tanaiste added that the fundamental piece of infrastructure needed to continue to attract overseas investment was the availability of high quality property solutions for new projects. "IDA Ireland, in conjunction with the Local Authorities - and in North Mayo also involving the North Mayo Enterprise Initiative - is building up strategic landbanks in each of the major centres in the County so as to have attractive Business Parks in each major town. In Ballina under the BES programme a new advance office facility is under construction on the IDA site; in Castlebar master planning is under way for a new high quality office park; and in Westport the purchase of a new 38 acre site is well advanced to accommodate future developments."

In a response from the company today John Corcoran, Managing Director Volex Europe, welcomed the support of the government and specifically thanked the IDA for their assistance through the proposal process. He outlined that Volex in Ireland had entered the third phase of its development within the Volex group. Initially established as a manufacturing location it had then adopted a role as the headquarters for European Operations and was now positioning itself as a research and development center, supporting Volex locations and its customers globally. He added "While trading conditions continue to be difficult in the Data/Telecom market, Volex recognises the need to use this period to enhance its service and product portfolio offerings across a range of interconnect technologies for existing and potential customers. Ireland remains a leading location for engineering and technical resources and the Castlebar facility is ideally positioned to fulfill the expanded role of a Product Development Centre".