Tag: coveney

Minister Coveney Opens Digital Manufacturing Ireland

Minister Simon Coveney TD has today, Monday 27th March 2023, officially opened Digital Manufacturing Ireland (DMI). Located in the IDA Ireland National Technology Park in Limerick, DMI is the national centre of excellence designed to support Irish based manufacturers, both multi-national businesses and SMEs, to access, partner and accelerate their adoption of transformative digital technologies and to drive their future competitiveness.

Digital Manufacturing Ireland (DMI) is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.

Joining Minister Coveney at the event was IDA’s Interim CEO Mary Buckley and the Board and Management of Digital Manufacturing Ireland, along with members of the manufacturing and business community. DMI boasts a unique technology offering in the form of a fully representative end to end Physical and Digital Production Line with digital twin capabilities designed to provide DMI clients with access to the latest digital technologies, expertise and deployment support in a real-world manufacturing environment. Industry led, and resourced to solve manufacturing industry challenges, DMI will be instrumental in ensuring the future resilience and competitiveness of Irish-based manufacturing.

Speaking at the event, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney TD said: “I am delighted to join the Digital Manufacturing Ireland Board, IDA Ireland, and industry representatives at the launch today. DMI is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland and will play a pivotal role in advancing the future competitiveness of the manufacturing sector as well as supporting the delivery of Ireland’s Industry 4.0 Strategy 2020 – 2025.

Over 270,000 are employed across MNCs and SMEs in manufacturing in Ireland and are developing and producing world leading products for global supply.  As the world’s supply chains continue to be disrupted, competitiveness challenges prevail and international competition for investment intensifies, it has never been more important for Ireland to invest in the future of its core manufacturing capability. Digital Manufacturing Ireland will support Ireland’s manufacturing base in remaining at the forefront of digital transformation and ensure that Ireland is recognised internationally as having a vibrant, collaborative, competitive and digitally enabled industry base.

This is directly in line with Government’s goal to ensure Ireland remains resilient, competitive and absolutely ready to win the next wave of manufacturing investment”

Mary Buckley, Interim CEO of IDA Ireland said: “Enhancing Ireland’s manufacturing capability is a strategic national priority and a core component of the transformation agenda within IDA Ireland’s Strategy – Driving Recovery & Sustainable Growth 2021-2024.  Engaging with industry, we recognise the challenges facing companies as they balance the need to drive competitiveness with the disruption and opportunities around new technologies.  DMI will ensure that Irish based manufacturers have access to the infrastructure, technology and skills to help them solve real issues and to kickstart and continue to drive their digital transformation journeys”.

Lionel Alexander, Chairperson of Digital Manufacturing Ireland Board said: “We are delighted to have officially opened our world-class facility today alongside IDA Ireland and the Irish Government. The manufacturing sector in Ireland, from medtech and biopharma to food and drink and engineering, is a key contributor to Ireland’s economic resilience and ongoing economic success. After the unprecedented global disruption of the last 24-months, now more than ever, it is critical for our manufacturing sector to deploy the new technologies and tools to serve the drive for innovation and ultimately business differentiation.

“We are committed to supporting all manufacturers regardless of their size or level of technological maturity in their transformation journey, right across their manufacturing value chain, through collaborations and partnerships. We will provide a platform to test and create new technologies and use-cases in an industry environment, but also provide the necessary training and capabilities among the Irish workforce to effectively compete by being digital-first.”

Digital Manufacturing Ireland has also announced a new strategic partnership with global Medical Technologies company Edwards Life Sciences to focus on digital transformation across its sites in Limerick and Clare.

Andrew Walls, Plant General Manager of Edwards LifeSciences in Limerick said, “Edwards Lifesciences is proud to be partnering with Digital Manufacturing Ireland, to support the development and delivery of Edwards digital transformation programme. We will collectively be working across the three pillars of Technology, Human Centric Manufacturing and Supply chain operations in order to advance the digital capabilities of our operations and workforce.”

ClickUp Announces the Opening of New Dublin Office Following European Expansion

ClickUp, the productivity platform that brings work together in one place, was joined by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney TD today, to officially open its new Dublin office. The company opened its EMEA HQ in Dublin in 2021 but quickly exceeded capacity following a European expansion last year. Located in the heart of Dublin, the new office will accommodate local employees and is designed with the future of work in mind. Workers will have access to configured workstations, a large conference room, and dedicated collaboration spaces.

The new European HQ will bring together ClickUp’s sales, success, support, and solutions engineering teams to deliver outcomes for more than 575,000 teams in the EMEA region that trust ClickUp to make their teams more productive.

ClickUp’s EMEA team is made up of about 200 people, with 75 of these employees based in Ireland. The company expects to hire hundreds more EMEA team members across various departments, including marketing, business development, sales, customer success, and professional services by the end of 2025.

ClickUp continues to grow its European customer base so building a local team to support those customers has become a key business priority. To that end, ClickUp is also expanding its German, French, and Spanish-speaking teams in Dublin to better service its users.

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney says: “I’m pleased to welcome ClickUp’s expansion announcement and that they have chosen Dublin for their EMEA Headquarters, providing office space for more than 40 staff. We pride ourselves on the environment we have created to help ambitious multinationals like ClickUp thrive and avail of the skilled workforce we have to offer in Ireland. I wish the team the very best in this exciting new project and ongoing success with their European operations.”

Richard McGuinness, VP of EMEA Sales and Head of the Ireland Office says: “Opening our Dublin office shows that we are continuing to commit to delivering incredible service for our EMEA customers. The economic climate has brought uncertainty to businesses around the world. At ClickUp, we are pleased to see the fruits of our teams’ dedication and determination as we navigate through these challenges and help our customers increase their productivity and efficiency. We are looking forward to continuing to build out our EMEA team and welcoming employees and customers into our new headquarters.”

Mary Buckley, Interim CEO IDA Ireland says: “ClickUp’s new Dublin office is a testament to the strength of the Irish talent pool. The company’s growth plans signal confidence in the favourable conditions that Ireland offers high-growth companies. I wish ClickUp’s continued success over the coming months and years.”

Minister Coveney officially opens Ireland’s first esports academy in Cork

Ireland’s first professional esports training centre, the WYLDE Academy powered by Virgin Media, was officially opened today (Monday) by Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment Simon Coveney T.D.

Based in Ireland, WYLDE esports, co-owned by Usain Bolt, competes in major esports titles and tournaments around the world. The WYLDE Academy is a high performance centre for national and international professionals to train in a world class facility powered by Virgin Media superfast broadband.

Speaking at the official opening of the WYLDE Academy in Republic of Work, Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment Simon Coveney T.D. said: “There is such a high level of expertise, commitment and professionalism required to compete and win globally in the world of esports. These WYLDE players are a new generation of talented and ambitious professionals mentored by the world’s fastest man Usain Bolt. It is wonderful to see such global ambition in the world’s fastest growing sport from an indigenous Irish company.”

“The opening of the WYLDE Academy is another step in our journey towards ensuring that Ireland is at the forefront of professional esports internationally. Sponsors like Virgin Media and PUMA have made it possible for us to create a training base in Cork for some of the world’s best talent. This country has an opportunity to create significant employment in the area of gaming and esports for future generations”, said David Cronin, co-founder of WYLDE.

Vice President of Commercial at Virgin Media, Paul Higgins said: “Virgin Media recognise the audiences, engagement rates and growth of gaming and esports across the globe. Our strategic partnership with WYLDE ensures that we are supporting the development of Irish esports as we align with Ireland’s first professional esports academy.”

On the international stage, as one of the top teams in Europe, the WYLDE Rainbow Six Siege team now competes in Ubisoft’s top tier European League (EUL) following a rapid rise to the top. In 2022, WYLDE won the EU Gamers Without Borders Championship securing a $250,000 donation to UNICEF, and went on to the global semi-final of the $2 million Gamers 8 tournament in Saudi Arabia, beating Team Liquid and former World Champions Space Station Gaming along the way. WYLDE then went on to win Ubisoft GSA Grand Final Trophy in Germany.  WYLDE fields international teams in Riot Games ‘Valorant’, EA’s ‘FIFA’  and Psyonix’s ‘Rocket League’.  The company recently unveiled PUMA as their official kit sponsor globally in what was described as a ‘significant’ multi-year sponsorship deal.

This new partnership positions Virgin Media at the forefront of gaming in Ireland, working with Usain Bolt’s WYLDE esports organisation, to grow Ireland’s roster of world-class esports athletes.