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Enterprise Ireland clients scaling internationally at an accelerated pace – agency marks impact of Irish companies abroad with over 50 international business events for St. Patrick’s Day​

• Taoiseach Leo Varadkar leads delegation to the USA.

• Irish companies Climeaction, Output Sports and SportsKey announce expansion in the U.S., while Ireland’s ClonBio Group announces €0.5bn investment.

With Irish companies scaling internationally at an accelerated pace, this St. Patrick’s Day Enterprise Ireland is marking the enormous impact of Irish companies across the globe, with a series of over 50 overseas business events. Enterprise Ireland clients achieved exports of €32.1bn in 2022, up 19% on the previous year and the highest on record for the agency, with client companies establishing 415 new overseas presences in the same year. 

Prior to the traditional St. Patrick’s Day meeting with President Biden at the White House, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will commence a programme of engagement in Boston where Irish ESG management company Climeaction and sports-tech company Output Sports are announcing expansions of their U.S. operations. 

The biggest announcement of the week comes from Ireland’s ClonBio Group, which owns and operates the world’s most advanced grain biorefinery. The company is planning a $500 million-dollar cumulative investment in a formerly moth-balled biorefinery it acquired in Jefferson, Wisconsin in mid-2022. 

Leading the US delegation, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: “We are really proud that Irish companies are proving successful at home and abroad thanks to their focus on innovation. Ireland’s strong industrial base, and our world-class research and development ecosystem, is helping many Irish companies to grow at a rapid pace in international markets. Ireland is a very open economy, with huge exports relative to our size. We have some extraordinary Irish companies who are the best at what they do globally. This St Patrick’s Day programme for 2024 is a great platform to showcase Irish companies that are scaling rapidly through world-class innovation.”

Leading Enterprise Ireland’s St. Patrick’s Day programme, Leo Clancy, CEO of Enterprise Ireland said; “Irish companies are scaling internationally at an accelerated pace, establishing new presences, and making significant investments and acquisitions in international markets, to serve their growing international customer base. Their growth internationally, strengthens their business, delivering job creation in Ireland and boosts Ireland’s economy. Irish businesses account for two-thirds of Irish jobs, and we are focused on further strengthening this position. They are the economic cornerstones in communities across Ireland.

“Supporting Irish-owned companies to achieve greater scale and expand their global footprint is a priority for our organisation. This is the focus of our programme of 50 events across the world for St. Patrick’s Day, showcasing the success of Irish companies to international buyers.“

At SXSW Austin, Texas this week, Enterprise Ireland will also showcase the best of Ireland’s trailblazing companies in film, technology, future mobility, and the commercial creative sector, at Ireland House at SXSW, a Department of Foreign Affairs and cross government agency initiative. Enterprise Ireland client companies to be showcased at the event, include the Giant Company who are merging artistry and cutting-edge technology to deliver the world’s tallest moving statue to Manna who are undertaking the world’s largest drone delivery trial and Imvizar, the “Netflix for AR”, who are launching the world’s first no-code AR storytelling platform.

Irish companies accelerating investment in the U.S. include: 

• Climeaction, an Irish climate action solutions provider, is expanding its operations to the United States, establishing a permanent base in Boston with a team of 10 people. This expansion reflects the company's significant growth and will enable Climeaction to continue to support key multinational clients in the U.S. manufacturing industry including Analog Devices, Abbott, Garrett Motion, and Aryzta.

• Output Sports, an Irish sports technology company, launched a V2 product in late 2022, which has led to significant U.S. growth with over 300 new clients onboarded, including flagship clients in the NFL, WNSL, MLB, NHL and NBA. Output Sports is now doubling down on its U.S. focus to accelerate their mission of making elite level sports-science simple and scalable. Output Sports recently established a new office in Boston, Massachusetts and co-founder and CEO, Dr. Martin O'Reilly has relocated from Ireland to Boston to further build Output's U.S. growth team with 5 new U.S. hires to date. 

• Sportskey, an innovative Irish SportsTech enterprise, announced its new U.S. Midwest presence, based in Chicago. SportsKey develops easy to use sports facility management, scheduling, and online booking software providing clients with increased revenue and key usage insights. SportsKey works with sports facilities in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and U.S. to transform the way they manage their facilities including key MLS professional soccer club, Chicago Fire.

• Version 1, a leader in digital transformation, today announced it will be focusing on the US market in 2024, building on its operations currently centered around capital markets and financial services. This comes in response to growing demand from its global base of strategic customers, many of which are located in the US such as CitiGroup, AON, JP Morgan Chase and Co., to deliver major business transformation programs through digital, data and cloud solutions, next generation managed services and specialist AI collaboration.  The company already has a team in place in New York, and has recently appointed Nicholas McFadden as Regional Director, USA. Plans are in place to open a new office in the area later this year and drive recruitment for a variety of roles, including key senior positions. 

• SWOOP, in partnership with Sage and The BOSS network unveiled a new training and mentorship program, Pathways to Success, designed to support Black women entrepreneurs in Atlanta. Additionally, Swoop has formed a partnership with D1 Sports Training Franchise Group. The partnership will provide training for lower school and college athletes. Headquartered in Nashville, this training provides access to finance for their franchisees to assist the growth of D1 across the U.S.

ENDS 

For reference: 

Marika MacCarvill, Communications Manager, Ireland & International, Enterprise Ireland 

00 353 86 171 2568 / marika.maccarvill@enterprise-ireland.com​