Social media USA

Social media #success in the USA

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Sean Davis, Enterprise Ireland’s regional manager for North America, shares insights about how social media can be used to propel your business in the market.

Your corporate online presence has for some time been a cornerstone of the image and brand equities your company wants to communicate. The past five years has seen enormous growth in social media platforms as an enabler of those communications. The hits and misses of viral content demonstrate its potential to help build a presence, particularly in the US.

The effectiveness of social media to help companies to engage with customers was explored at the E3: ‘Entrepreneurship Export Exchange’ conference in Dublin, co-hosted by Enterprise Ireland and the Washington DC consultancy Global Situation Room.

Business confidence is high, presenting opportunities for Irish companies across the US. With 313,000 jobs added in February, the US unemployment rate is at 4.1%, its lowest since 2001. GDP growth for Q4 2017 was also faster than predicted.

A third of E3’s conference speakers hailed from a media background and advised that ‘getting your story right’ is critical for Irish companies in the US, when using social media and presenting pitches to customers and investors. Business leaders should practice telling their story succinctly in a way that makes its impact easy to grasp.

Declan Fearon, Managing Director at Tipperary Crystal and CEO at Freezadome, comments, “Freezadome attended to explore strategies for growing exports to the USA and Mexico. E3 was the most informative conference I’ve attended in years. The knowledgeable mix of speakers in the packed room travelled from the US and UK to share expertise on how to sell and grow your business, and how valuable the Irish connection can be in the market.”

With the US long leading the development of cutting-edge marketing, most innovations are now shaping the digital space. North America is home to the world’s highest penetration of social media users. According to Statista, the global statistics portal, 81% of US Americans had a social media profile in 2017. That range of penetration enables Irish companies to access a huge potential customer base on networks such as Twitter and LinkedIn at potentially low cost.

With social media marketing reaching a point of maturity, it is important to consider the most recent trends in your sector. A quick competitor review of how effectively others are using social media can help you to decide which channels are worth investment.

Smart use of social media at industry events provides one of the best opportunities to engage a highly-targeted audience. Event hashtags are closely followed by attendees many of whom may be potential customers and partners. Staff should include the event’s handle and hashtag to share insights that can help build the right following and engagement.

Philip Martin, CEO of Cora Systems, comments, “The #IrishAdvantage is allowing Cora to power transformation in enterprise organisations such as Teleflex, Allergan, Boston Scientific, Analog, Elanco and Nabriva. Introductions made at Enterprise Ireland events helped Cora to develop strong partnerships in the US. The multinational nature of our client base enables seamless implementations of our enterprise portfolio and project management solution for US customers.”

How Irish companies should negotiate contracts with US clients was another important topic explored at E3. Irish businesses can be daunted when approaching American firms, viewing themselves at a disadvantage, with odds stacked in favour of the larger company.

Irish suppliers should remember that domain expertise can help you to occupy a strong negotiating position. Being the main sectoral expert in the room and owning the subject matter can add value to the potentially broader capabilities of large US companies. The well-known flexibility of Irish companies should also apply to contract negotiations. Irish firms should remember to sell US clients what they need, and not simply what you offer at present.

To learn more about what US locations offer, Irish companies should contact local economic development offices (EDOs), which operate at state level from coast to coast, north to south, and at city and county level. EDOs aren’t just interested in big firms but are open to conversations with SMEs interested in opening a sub-office with even two or three employees. The EDOs’ umbrella organisation SelectUSA has personnel in the US embassy in Dublin.

This article was originally published in the Sunday Independent.

Visit out US Market pages for key insights and information on routes to market.

From Howth Head to the frontline: How D4H helps emergency responders save lives across the world

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Most companies say they provide customers with the best service. But do they go the extra mile to really understand their customers’ needs? D4H Technologies certainly does.

Based in the Baily lighthouse on Howth Head, D4H has created a suite of market-leading software solutions that enhance the readiness, response and re-evaluation capabilities of emergency service providers and public safety teams around the world.

Helping and protecting others is in the blood for the people at D4H. Robin Blandford, founder and CEO, is also the deputy officer in charge of the Coast Guard station in Howth. Many of his employees hold similar positions.

“Nearly all of our staff would have some sort of role in the emergency response services – on search and rescue teams and emergency management,” Robin explains. “It is a factor we look for when we’re hiring staff. It gives them a passion for our market. I use our product with the Coast Guard and it gives me a very good understanding of the user and what they need.”

How D4H started their journey with Enterprise Ireland

D4H evolved from a database that Robin developed for his Coast Guard station to look for patterns and trends in local incidents. “Slowly that transitioned into becoming a useful tool for managing the unit itself until I eventually gave up my regular job to focus on the software fulltime in 2008,” he says.

“We went straight into Enterprise Ireland and the DIT hothouse incubator. We got €17,000 in funding to help cover costs while we built our product. That was year one.

“When we came out the incubator, it felt like we were coming off a cliff because we needed to find customers and revenue and we weren’t quite at that point. So we applied for the first-ever year of Enterprise Ireland’s Competitive Start Funding and were accepted. It was a real turning point for us. Enterprise Ireland gave us €50,000 for 10% of the company, and it was the last investment we have taken.

“Since then D4H has just grown organically. Budgets are reasonably steady in public safety, so there was no impact from the recession – we were exporting from day one. We are now up to 12 employees. Our growth has been steady at around 50% annually. We have a very strong base with some very big name customers.”

Specialised software that saves lives

The threats of terrorism, industrial accidents and severe weather might seem a world away from a quiet lighthouse on the northern edge of Dublin Bay, yet it is from there that D4H’s work helps saves lives when such events occur.

Robins says, “Dealing with these threats requires specialised teams with specialised equipment and specialised training, and that’s exactly who we serve.

“Our software helps track the training, qualifications and availability of personnel and the equipment they use. We have an incident management product which tracks everything the response teams do, and an incident reporting tool which lets teams analyse and re-evaluate their performance. That feeds back into the readiness, so it’s a cycle between our products.

“About 80% of our customers are in North America. We supply police, fire, SWAT, chemical response teams, bomb squads, disaster response, medical response, search and rescue teams, and others throughout Canada and east coast United States. We’ve done the Boston Marathon for the last two years, assisted with software for that.

“We’re also working with a number of cities on the west coast of the US. A lot of the firefighters tackling wildfires there recently would be tracked using our system with regards to training and their equipment readiness.”

“Another growth area is corporate organisations. These events hurt them, they shutdown offices and affect their sales. This year we’ve seen a massive uptake in very large companies contacting us and asking us what public safety are doing and how can we replicate this.”

Leveraging Enterprise Ireland’s overseas network

Most of D4H’s target customers won’t be found on any generic list of companies and so the company leverages Enterprise Ireland’s network to open doors and make introductions.

Robin says: “We tell Enterprise Ireland who we want to be introduced to and their local office do some research around the company, or provide an introduction letter, or get us a meeting.

“We’re dealing with bomb squads, SWAT teams, hazmat teams and others. If we have a big meeting and we get a letter of introduction from Enterprise Ireland, something which states that they stand over us and are an investor in our company, then it provides us with good credibility.

“I’m very comfortable with how were doing it. All the signals are very good. Ours is a very niche market, you can’t just pump in advertising and marketing money and expect to clean up. Public safety is a very risk averse industry, you have to build trust and relationships, and we’ve done that very well.”

Irish Dog Foods learns new market research tricks to target export growth

 Irish Dog Foods learns new market research tricks to target export growth

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When Irish Dog Foods needed to learn more about the relationship between man and his best friend, their first port of call was the Enterprise Ireland Market Research Centre.

The award-winning manufacturer has worked with Enterprise Ireland to develop innovative new product ranges for export during a relationship spanning more than 10 years – but the partnership has stepped up a level in the last two years.

Marketing Manager, Darren Keating explains: “Irish Dog Foods has used the Market Research Centre for every new market we’ve entered in the past two years – Portugal, Germany, Korea and Spain.

Excellent access to information

“The access to information they provide you with is excellent. They give you the tools and facilities to be better prepared when you move into new markets. As a company, you learn and benefit from the process of working with the Market Research Centre.

“We might be having a conversation internally about whether to put some effort into Poland or Denmark. At that point, we have some key questions to ask, such as what is the size of the market, who are the big players, is it dominated by retailers, is it dominated by pet stores, is it dominated by brands, or by private labels?

“One of the best avenues we would use to answer these questions would be the reports which are available at the Market Research Centre. They can give us access to data by company, sector, market and general country information. We still have to clean the data, but we wouldn’t be able to do it as professionally, quickly or as comprehensively without the facilities that the Market Research Centre provides.”

Knowledge it takes to break new markets

After more than 25 years in business and with around 50 exports markets globally, Naas-based Irish Dog Foods is one of the most recognisable names in pet food retail across the globe. However, this old dog is always keen to learn new tricks when it comes to breaking in to new international markets.

Darren explains: “When we launched in South Korea this year it was the result of 26 months of planning and preparation.

“One of the things we learned during our market research is that almost all the dogs are small – there are practically no large dogs in Korea because it’s mostly large population centres with apartment living. That meant we specifically targeted the owners of small dogs.

“We also learned that the average spend on pet food was very high in Korea, so we were able to target our very high-quality foods at the buyers and retailers. That information came from reports provided by the Market Research Centre. It meant that when we were making our pitches, we were knowledgeable, we were experienced, we knew what we were doing, and it was impressive in terms of the buyer listening to us.

“The impression the buyers got was, ‘these guys know what they’re doing. They’re not just throwing everything on the table, they have an understanding of what will work in my market. It wasn’t the reason why we got the business, but it was a big help and it did make our pitches more professional.”

New markets can be big revenue drivers

The new markets Irish Dog Foods has moved into recently are expected to become significant revenue drivers over the next five years, and the company plans to continue its work with the Market Research Centre.

Darren says: “Recently, we started thinking about targeting the Polish market. We want to know things like, what’s the percentage of dog-owning households, what’s the dog population, what is a consumption of dog food – and what about dry food versus wet food? We can get that information in reports from the Market Research Centre and it helps us really get into the detail of the dog food category in Poland.

“We can also use them for lead generation. Who are the top 20 retailers in Poland? Can I get a database of all the pet distributors in Poland? If we get 200 leads and there are 50 targetable leads after cleaning, then that’s a good start.”

“The Market Research Centre doesn’t do our work for us, but it does provide the material
for us to do our work – and that makes the process much easier.”

Learn more about Enterprise Ireland’s Market Diversification supports here.

 

From Wexford to the world – Sonru goes global

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You know your product has arrived when its name becomes a verb. Just ask Hoover. To physicists at CERN, the prestigious European research organisation, Wexford video recruitment tool Sonru “is almost a recognised verb in the CERN in-house vocabulary.”

It’s just one of a number of testimonials captured on Sonru’s website from big name clients around the world. All are fans of its pioneering online interviewing tool, developed to streamline the selection and recruitment process.

The business arose in the mid noughties when founder Ed Hendrick saw his fellow university graduates travel extensively for job interviews. “I just though there had to be a better way,” he said. Online video tools such as YouTube and Skype were then taking off, sparking an idea for an innovative solution.

Sonru enables recruiters to replicate a live interview online, dismissing the need for early-stage phone, Skype or face-to-face interviews. It uses questions preselected by the employer and answers given by the candidate at a time that suits them. The result is recorded on video and stored for reviewing.

Because interviewers and candidates are not online at the same time, it does away with scheduling and time-zone constraints. It also eradicates no-shows and screens out unsuitable candidates, saving time and money.

Hendrick started the business in an office at Enniscorthy Enterprise and Technology Centre before being accepted on a South East Enterprise Programme, a one-year incubation programme for entrepreneurs.

There he met fellow entrepreneur Chris Horan, who helped him to design the product, and became Sonru’s chief technology officer.

In February 2008, they launched a beta version to the market for free in order to get feedback. By 2009, Sonru had landed its first paying customer, Eircom, and revenues grew.

A UK office opened in 2010, with sales built mainly via trade shows. Operations in Singapore and Australia followed.

“The idea was always to sell worldwide and be a global company. I didn’t want to develop a product that would be restricted to one market,” said Hendrick.

Expansion was funded with the help of private investors and support from Enterprise Ireland. Maintaining a strong media profile helped. “We were lucky in that our investors contacted us. They had read about us in the press and were interested,” he said.

“We entered and won a lot of awards in the early days, including from the Small Firms Association and InterTradeIreland. It is a good way to get your name out there, giving you visibility.”

Today Sonru has a string of international accolades under its belt too including Singapore Business Review’s “Human Resource Technology Award” and a Top 100 Cloud Companies in the World nomination from Amazon Web Services.

Client testimonials and case studies from global brands such as Rolls Royce, Nestle and Qatar Airlines remain important however because satisfied clients are key: “Our best sales people are our customers telling their peers about it,” he said. “Only this week we had the Head of Talent Acquisition and Development of Mercedes-Benz UK share his Sonru story at the FIRMday Spring Conference in London. One of his slides had ‘Sonru has been an intervention that has had more of an impact on recruitment than anything I’ve ever seen.’ You can’t buy that sort of impact.”

Sonru is now translated into 19 languages, many of them Asian. It has more than 500 enterprise clients and captures thousands of interviews every day.

The company employs 60 people – and growing. “We are competing in the war for talent ourselves,” said Hendrick, who knows first-hand that the selection process is an important touch point for any brand looking to be seen as an employer of choice.

“We’re very focused on providing a premium candidate experience. It’s important that the candidate gets a great impression of the prospective employer right from the start, including through the choice of tools they use. Sonru enables employers to present the tool as entirely their own branded experience,” he said.  “And we’re very focused on delivering great customer service.”

To learn more about expanding your business internationally visit Markets & Opportunities.

 

 

How investing in growth paid off for SF Engineering

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Visit almost any leading food company around the world and you are quite likely to find production line technology supplied by Irish firm SF Engineering.

Since its establishment in 1983, SF Engineering has been responsible for more than €250 million worth of food processing projects in 63 countries across Europe, North and South America, Russia, the Middle East, and Australia.

Central to the company’s success during that time has been its commitment to innovation and unwavering customer focus.

“We started off in the fish industry,” says CEO and founder, Seamus Farrell. “After that, we moved into the red meat sector and the broader food industry. This wasn’t part of a grand plan. It sort of happened accidently.”

It was a natural evolution, however, given the impact the company had already had on the fish sector. “What we did for the fish industry was futuristic,” he says. “At the time, it cost around €25 per tonne to process fish. We reduced that price to €4 per tonne by automating the process. That was our first big kill and set us up for future growth. After that, we moved into the Scottish and Scandinavian fish sectors – that was quite a natural move for us. We have never been export shy.”

Today, SF Engineering designs, manufactures and installs high-quality food production lines. Specific product lines include conveyors, packing solutions, platforms, weighing equipment, fat analysis, quality control, hygiene equipment, lifting and tipping equipment.

“Our process design expertise enables us to deliver highly efficient food production lines that reduce costs, increase capacity and require less maintenance”, says Farrell. “Our food technology experience covers a range of sectors, including meat, poultry, fish, bakery, dairy, fruit and veg, ready meals and pet food. We are experts in the precision engineering of complex engineering systems for the food sector and we provide a trustworthy support service to our clients who operate around the clock throughout the year.”

Expansion into international markets began in earnest in the late 1990s and this saw the company form a number of key strategic alliances with global partners. “We have formed great partnerships with companies, firstly the main one being Ishida, then following on from that CEIA,  Marelec and Eagle”, says Farrell. “They have been very important to us. They allow us to combine our complementary strengths in different areas to supply turnkey solutions to the global food industry.”

These partnerships have been an important source of new business referrals, but the company is active on international markets winning new orders. “You have to keep driving on,” says Farrell. “We have consistently invested in R&D over the years, with support from Enterprise Ireland and others. Back in 2009, when Irish businesses were severely challenged by the recession, we made a decision to invest in growth.”

That decision saw the acquisition of Opal FPS in St Ives, Cambridgeshire. “That helped us to grow our sales in the UK. It has also Brexit-proofed our business.”

Another key decision around that time was the opening of a new base in Prague, where the company’s Global Installation Team is based. The relationship with the Czech Republic dates back to the late 1990s.

“In the late 1990s and early 2000s we found that we were losing people to the building boom,” says Farrell. “That led to us employing a lot of people from the Czech Republic. We found them to be very good stainless steel fabricators. Without those guys we wouldn’t have been able to expand internationally as quickly as we did. The Global Installation Team is in transit, with all the team travelling around the world from project to project.”

Farrell is grateful to Enterprise Ireland and the other bodies which supported the company in its growth and development over the years. “They believed in the company and supported us, and that was very important.”

He believes export success begets further export success. “Having supplied all these blue chip companies around the world gives us the confidence to go out and win more business,” he says.

“We are also very lucky to come from a country with a very strong food industry, which has travelled well globally and has established a reputation for high quality. Our core values are to be as professional and competitive as possible. We are never going to be the cheapest, but we will add the most value and deliver the best and fastest return on investment to our customers. We are large enough to compete around the world but small enough to be flexible when it comes to delivering solutions for customers. We understand that retailers and consumers want more affordable, safer food on supermarket shelves, and they want very good quality. We provide the solutions that enable our customers to meet that demand.”

These core values have seen SF Engineering expand to employ 110 people in Ireland, the UK and Prague, with business growing strongly year on year. “We will have sales of €20 million this year,” Farrell concludes.

Learn how Enterprise Ireland enables companies to access R&D funding with our innovation supports.

Hanley Energy’s path to powering giants of the internet

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Innovative solutions and a partnership approach have been central to the success of Hanley Energy, a global innovator in energy and power management delivery.

Headquartered in Stamullen, Co. Meath, Hanley Energy was set up in 2009 by co-founders Dennis Nordon and Clive Gilmore. The pair started out in a Local Enterprise Office incubation centre and, thanks to decades of experience in designing and delivering turnkey solutions for Europe’s most power-intensive users, they quickly built up a portfolio of domestic clients, including CIÉ, Glanbia, Roadstone and Largo Foods.

“Initially all our work was with indigenous Irish companies, providing energy management solutions, in real time, for companies who wanted to see exactly what their energy usage was,” says Nordon.

While the company still operates across a range of sectors, from food production to pharmaceutical, transport and heavy manufacturing, in 2010 it began developing specialist power management solutions for the country’s burgeoning data centre sector.

Powering data centres – lynch pin of the digital world

Used to house the vast banks of computing power required to store, process and distribute an insatiable amount of data, these data centres are the lynch pin of the digital world and one for which continuous, clean energy supply is mission critical.

Hanley Energy developed a range of bespoke solutions to enable its Tier 1 data centre clients to maximise uptime and minimise operational costs. Because of the secrecy that surrounds data centres, it cannot name these clients but suffice to say, “they are the giants of the internet,” says Nordon.

In 2013, the company opened a new headquarters and manufacturing facility in Stamullen. Within 18 months it had doubled in size. Demand is such that in 2018 a further extension will see it expand its physical footprint by 50%.

Today Hanley Energy employs 57 people and has grown by providing clients with a one stop shop solution for energy products, software and service, from consultancy and advisory, to design, build & maintenance, as well as the complete life cycle management process.

“Essentially, we help our clients to reduce their overall energy costs, ensure 100% up-time and optimise their operational competitiveness,” says Nordon.

But it isn’t just technical know-how that accounts for Hanley Energy’s success. “While innovation is our unique selling proposition, a key driver of our growth is relationships,” he says.

“Our commercial tag line is ‘Trusted Energy Partner’ and that is our ethos. It’s by being a trusted partner that you can really add value for clients. It’s about building relationships and working with clients on a partnership model over the long term.”

It is this partnership approach that has helped them develop its significant overseas business, starting with an invitation from a client located in Ireland to deliver a cutting-edge solution to one of its overseas plants.

“They realised we are not some ordinary ‘me too’ vendor and asked us to look into a problem they were having in the United States,” explains Nordon.

“Hanley Energy is not simply a reseller or integrator but a developer of innovative technologies. We’ve been working with big data centres for long enough now that we understand the challenges they face. They are enormous power consumers with a mandate that requires them to keep that power on 24/7 365 days a year. For these clients, an outage simply cannot occur. We are tasked with keeping the power on and we create the solutions to do that,” says Nordon.

“We also provide the metrics that allow granularity as to how much power they are using and where they are using it. When you are using energy at this level, a percentage saving is colossal.”

Leveraging the overseas presence of multinational clients based here has enabled Hanley Energy to establish operations in Germany, Sweden, the US and Australia, with a further office planned for South Africa.

Once Hanley Energy has established a presence in each new market it then seeks out additional opportunities there, which require its skillset and expertise.

Resourcing global expansion

“Enterprise Ireland’s overseas offices have been a huge help to us in that, from providing us with initial office space, to making introductions and identifying opportunities,” he says.

Expanding into international markets can put a massive strain on resources. To avoid this Hanley Energy has implemented a Global Competence Centre model as part of its strategic growth plan, based at its Irish headquarters. 

“Our senior management and technical expertise resides in Ireland and all our research & development and new product development operations take place here,” says Nordon.

“Many of our products are IP (intellectual property) protected and have taken years to develop. So when we enter a new market, operating on a Global Competence Centre model allows us to parachute our expert personnel in wherever and whenever they are required, to train up the teams on the ground. This has helped us get up to speed quickly in each new market. It is a very effective way to scale and has been our strategic driver for growth.”

To learn more about expanding your business internationally visit Markets & Opportunities.

Key questions to ask at your Spanish and Portuguese Market Advisor meeting

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The combined population of Spain and Portugal is more than 10 times that of Ireland, while Iberia’s landmass is 7 times larger than Ireland’s.

If you are considering doing business in Spain or Portugal, your first step should be a call with our dedicated team.

  • What do you need from me to move this forward? Enterprise Ireland works with clients who have the potential to make an impact, by connecting with buyers and finding opportunities in the market. Irish client companies play a great role in this process too. To make the most of your opportunities in the Spanish and Portuguese market, ask your MA what you can do to move the process forward and ensure success.
  • What kind of timeline are we working with? Different markets work on different timelines. Winning business in this market requires dedication over time; developing your relationship with a buyer in Spain or Portugal is as important as any business negotiation. Ask your MA what kind of timeline you should expect when entering this market. That way you can be prepared for the different steps and milestones in the process.
  • What should our buyer persona look like? Knowing who you want to sell to in this market is very important. It is essential to understand the dynamics of your target market. With the help of your MA, decipher what your buyer persona looks like and work to adapt your pitch to that persona. While this can vary within the market (especially in Spain’s autonomous regions), legitimate and specified buyer personas can be useful in identifying who to approach in market first.

Enterprise Ireland is committed to helping Irish firms succeed in global markets and have industry experts on hand, ready to help you access the Spanish market.

Our Market Advisors are always available to support you and provide business expertise and on-the-ground knowledge.

For more, download our Going Global Guide

Enterprise Ireland’s top tips for entering the Spanis and Portuguese markets can be viewed by clicking the graphic below.

Key questions to ask at your UK Market Advisor meeting

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Enterprise Ireland is playing a key role in supporting ambitious companies seeking opportunities in the UK.

If you are considering doing business in the UK, please be sure to reach out to our team in London.

  • What are the associations and organisations I should be speaking to in the UK?
  • Who are the key stakeholders in my sector in the UK?
  • What are the major considerations for buyers in my sector in the UK beyond price?
  • How do I need to present my company in the UK to challenge domestic competition in the market?
  • Who are the potential competitors for my business in the market? How strong is their foothold in the market?
  • What are the differences between how my sector operates in Ireland vs the UK?
  • What is the post-Brexit outlook in the sector?
  • How are Irish companies viewed in the UK?
  • What are the benefits of a UK based office? virtual or physical?
  • What do I need to do to set up a UK registered company?
  • What are the key sources of UK market information in my sector?
  • What supports can Enterprise Ireland UK provide in the market?

For more, please reach out to the MA here and be sure to check out our Going Global Guide

Enterprise Ireland’s top tips for entering the US market

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Ireland enjoys a unique advantage in trading with the US because of our deep historical links, in fact, it is Ireland’s second-largest export market, with almost 800 Irish companies operating across the United States.

If you are considering doing business in the US, please be sure to explore our tips to enter the market below and also be sure to reach out to our dedicated team.

  • The US is the world’s largest economy and is it the most competitive market in the world. Ensure your value proposition is differentiated before you try to acquire customers.
  • The population of the State of Alabama is the same as the entire Republic of Ireland, while Ireland’s GDP is similar to that of Colorado. It may be of benefit to take a more regional approach to your US market development, and not just gravitate to the main cities and economic centres. Spend some time understanding where the largest market opportunity and highest concentration of your customers may be.
  • Building rapport is very important in the US. Spend time developing relationships with your key target customers/buyers.
  • Attention to detail is valued in US business culture. US buyers will expect high-quality sales & marketing collateral, and it’s important that your collateral is updated with US-specific grammar and spelling.
  • Approach the market with a “customer needs” perspective not a “product” or “technology” perspective. What is the problem you are trying to solve with your product or service?

For more be sure to check out our Going Global Guide 

If you would like to know what to prepare ahead of your first MA call, click the graphic below

Bellurgan Precision beats the challenge of staying competitive

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“Enterprise Ireland has been so supportive over the years, it’s not just about money. What they do is open your eyes to opportunities.”

CEO, Stephen Hogg

Key Takeouts:

  • Bellurgan Precision specialises in solving complex design and manufacturing issues, focusing on the medical device and aerospace sectors among others.
  • Competitors in low cost countries meant that Bellurgan must continually add value to their offer in order to stay ahead of the curve.
  • Project support from Enterprise Ireland enabled them to invest in new technologies and training in order to build capabilities and reduce production times.

Case Study: Bellurgan Precision

Components produced by Bellurgan Precision at its state-of-the-art facility on the Cooley Peninsula can be found in a range of high-tech products, ranging from medical devices, aircraft parts, and electronic systems, developed by some of the world’s leading manufacturers.

Having recently celebrated 40 years in business, the family-owned company employs close to 100 people, generating worldwide sales of €12 million, and is targeting annual growth of between 15% and 20% over the next three to four years.

For companies in the sector, remaining competitive is a challenge. Bellurgan’s success is built on a combination of engineering expertise, quality, and an unwavering commitment to customer service. The company’s focus on operational excellence enabled it to add value beyond simply competing on cost, as Bellurgan Precision invests in innovative technologies, processes and skills to get ahead of international competition.

Selling engineering expertise

“We don’t really have a product,” says CEO, Stephen Hogg. “We sell engineering expertise. Our success is built on deep engineering capability and quality standards. We have an excellent team committed to solving complex design to manufacturing problems. When a customer comes and sits down to talk about the product they want us to make for them, they often leave two days later, having found that there are far fewer parts involved than they first thought.”

This is very important in the highly regulated medical devices areas.

“70% of the cost of a product is locked in at the design stage,” Hogg explains. “We help our customers cut out costs at that point. These products have to be approved by the FDA and so do the supply chains. It’s very hard to change the design of a product once it has been approved.”

The company’s principal focus is on the medical devices and aerospace sectors, with many of the world’s top companies on its highly impressive customer list.

“This is largely driven by demographics,” Hogg points out. “The global population is expanding, and there is strong growth in the middle classes, in countries like India and China, which is increasing demand for services such as healthcare and travel.

 

Competing against low-cost countries

“We are either a Gold partner or number one supplier with all of our customers, who are all global multinationals,” he continues. “Virtually everything we do is exported. Less than 1% is used on domestic market. We might sell products to multinationals based in Ireland, but they will ultimately integrate them into products which are shipped around the world.”

“Remaining competitive is a constant challenge. “We have to compete against low-cost countries, and this means continuously adding value for our customers and investing in new technologies, processes and skills to stay ahead,” says Hogg.

Support from Enterprise Ireland for continuous improvement

“Enterprise Ireland has been so supportive over the years,” he adds. “It’s not just about money. What they do is open your eyes to opportunities. They took us on visits to world-class players like the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic. We were able to hear world-class clinicians talking about their work and this was a great help to us. Enterprise Ireland also strongly supported our continuous improvement programme – we just couldn’t compete without that.”

One example of that programme was the implementation of lights out manufacturing. This allows a highly sophisticated machine to run 24/7 while only being attended to for one shift a day. The pallets are set up by the operative and automated process takes over after that.

“We have also bought a robotic system to help place parts and that gives us the flexibility to make better use of high-end machines”, Hogg adds. “Enterprise Ireland has also helped us with our investment in these technologies. We have participated in a number of different Enterprise Ireland programmes, with the most recent one being Lean. It impacts everything. The great thing is that it is open to everyone to get involved. Everybody can take part and make suggestions for improvements and solve problems. It changes the way people approach problem-solving. It’s hard to put a value on that.”

Looking to the future, he says that growth will come from existing and new market segments and building strong relationships with customers.

“You have to be out in the market all the time, continuously planting acorns. You can’t just sit back on what you have. It’s all about relationships and we get great support from Enterprise Ireland in terms of trying to attack new markets and new market segments.”

Learn more about Enterprise Ireland’s Competitiveness supports here.

Construction Turns Tide on Ireland’s Continental Drift

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Collen Construction

Unlike most building companies, Collen Construction grew during the recession by identifying opportunities in new, technologically driven sectors such as data centres and biopharma. In 2010, the 210 year old family business built its first data centre for a multinational client. Now, with close to 2 million sq. ft of high-tech space completed, it is one of the top Irish contractors in the ‘hitech/data hall’ space.

In 2014, at the invitation of the same multinational client, Collen Construction built its first data centre in Germany, and last April, the company opened an office in Frankfurt from where it plans to pursue further opportunities throughout Europe.

The European operations manager of Collen GmbH, Thomas O’Connor, stresses the importance of having a clear focus in order be credible overseas. Collen’s reputation in Ireland for being good at a wide range of construction activities will not open doors or win business in Europe, he says.

“We’ve made data centres our sweet spot and built a reputation for knowing how to mitigate the risks involved. These types of projects impose challenging deadlines and require us to produce volumes of technical information. Since 2010, we’ve really got to know the suppliers in this specialised field, and we’re comfortable in it.”

One of the secrets for managing the risk, O’Connor reveals, is treating all the sub contractors as partners and stakeholders. “For our clients, it’s all about speed-to-market, and, in that sense, it’s a very unforgiving sector. In this type of specialised project, therefore, if one fails, we all fail. It really is that simple. So we adopted a partnership approach in 2014, and the model has not let us down.”

PM Group

Like Collen, PM Group has followed its blue chip clients into continental Europe and has been active in the Benelux region, in particular, over the past 10 years.

Colm Fitzgerald, head of construction services at the engineering, architecture and project management firm, says there are a number of “bear traps” that construction firms need to be aware of. First and foremost is the need to respect other cultures. “Even something as simple as a turn of phrase that might be commonly used in Ireland could be misinterpreted,” he warns.

There are also differences in approaches to health and safety across Europe. “On the ground investigation and research is essential to identify exactly where the bar is set. In some countries, it’s not as high as in Ireland or the UK, for example.”

Fitzgerald also puts a strong emphasis on identifying contractors compatible with the Irish company’s own way of approaching business. “We do a lot of work in the life science sectors, and our clients demand and expect world class standards. We put significant effort into the pre-construction phase of our projects in mapping out execution plans. This is key to establishing best-in-class construction quality and health and safety programmes, so that everyone involved in the project knows exactly what’s expected of them and is both willing and able to deliver. We have worked hard in establishing a solid supply chain, and this has paid dividends in terms of our successful project delivery.”

“We have tended to enter a country in stages. Typically we would begin with concept design work, then expand our services from there.”

Colm Fitzgerald, head of construction services, PM Group.

Up until now, PM Group’s primary focus has been on Benelux countries, but the company is beginning to turn its attention to other opportunities across mainland Europe. “We have tended to enter a country in stages, first getting to know the people, understanding the companies and cultures, etc. It takes time to establish relationships. We’ll do it organically; typically we would begin with concept design work, then expand our services from there.”

Cork Plastics

Founded in 1969, Cork Plastics (CP) manufacturers a wide range of quality plastic products for the construction, building and agricultural sectors. Its main markets are Ireland and the UK, but the company is also rapidly expanding its European customer base, notably in France. CP’s sales and marketing director Seward Lynch says that identifying the right products for, and route to, each market has been crucial. “The hardest part was identifying potential customers, using similar products to those we produce in Cork,” he told The Market. CP chose France because it is large and the closest to Ireland after the UK, which is served by sister company FloPlast. “It has been a steep learning curve for us,” he confirms. “There are a lot of similarities, but a lot of differences, too. The French are slow to change, but there’s still potential there for us in the future.”

Freefoam Plastics

Another Cork-based company Freefoam Plastics began trading in 1990 and has grown into a multinational organisation, operating from sites in the UK, Belgium, France and Germany.

Freefoam entered the French market in 2002 with a trade offering of roofline and cladding products and expanded into the DIY sector at the beginning of 2009. For the last three years, the company has been selling a new cladding product developed specifically for the Dutch market and is developing plans for Germany. The continent now accounts for over 20 per cent of the group’s turnover.

“You need to find the right people to help you enter a new market and then integrate them into your organisation. You also have to find the right customers and distribution channels,” says managing director Aidan Harte. For Freefoam, innovation has been an essential core competency. “It’s important in new markets to adapt to meet the market’s needs, to find solutions that work there, rather than trying to force your existing solutions on them,” he emphasises.

Freefoam invests substantially in R&D, with support from Enterprise Ireland. “This allows us to grow our sales and stay ahead of our pan-European competitors,” Harte says. “Our end customers always expect us to come up with new products and innovations – anything that will help them get their work done more efficiently.”

Harte says that language is always something of a barrier, even though in Europe, in general, the command of English is very good. But Freefoam still sees real benefit in hiring people with multilingual skills that will suit its markets. “We have an inherent knowledge gap in language,” he says, “which is why we make sure we bring those skills into the company by direct hires.”

The Freefoam MD is also a strong advocate of doing homework on regulations and certification. Freefoam, for example, is the only maker of PVC cladding products with ATEC certification from the French building certification body, CTSB.

“It is very important for us to have a strong technical team, but you also have to be willing to tough it out to achieve the results you want,” Harte concludes. “It can take a lot of time and money, but it really is worth it.”

“You need to find the right people to help you enter a new market and then integrate them into your organisation.” Aidan Harte, managing director, Freefoam.

Second and third language skills key to European markets

One of the keys to getting traction in European markets is a sharp focus on the product or service, according to Stephen Hughes, head of construction markets at Enterprise Ireland. “As a rough rule of thumb, the further you are from home, the sharper your focus needs to be,” he says. “You need to be laser sharp in identifying the product areas or sectors in which you can make a major contribution. If you suggest you can do everything for everyone, you won’t be taken seriously.”

He also advises companies to be rigorous in their market research. “Too many companies don’t spend enough time getting to understand the dynamics of the market, the scale, the existing players and where their own offering might fit within that in order to be compelling,” he told The Market. “There is only one opportunity to make a first impression.”

Irish companies are doing well in the German and the Benelux construction markets, but all too often, they skip France and look further afield because of unjustified prejudices, he believes.

Tied up with overcoming this reticence – and getting to grips with European business culture in general – is the need for business leaders to embed second and third languages in their companies, he adds.

“Because English is so widely used as a common language for business in Europe, there is a sense that we don’t need to be able to converse in the language of a potential German or Belgian client. And even in companies that are able to speak to the client in their own language, there are surprisingly few with the in-house capability to really engage in the detailed business and technical side of things. After 40 years of being in the EU, we might have hoped for more.”

For Hughes, the language issue is all about demonstrating commitment. “Even if the customer has perfect English, it should be part of your culture to do business in the language of the country. Local hires can be a good starting point to demonstrate that level of commitment.”

This holds true even in construction, which may involve one-off contracts. “They may be one-off projects, but that does not necessarily imply one-off relationships, between contractors and sub contractors, for example,” he says.

Fuelling company growth AsiaPac

Fuelling your company’s growth in AsiaPac

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The size of Asia reflects the scale of the opportunity it presents to Irish businesses, delegates at Routes to Growth AsiaPac, a major conference held in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, heard recently.

“Three of the four top economies of the world are in Asia. It accounts for half the world’s population and a growing middle class,” said Julie Sinnamon, chief executive of Enterprise Ireland, which organised the event.

“China, India and the ASEAN countries are showing more than double global growth rates, so they are not alone large markets but ones have massive growth within them. And ASEAN is one of the world’s largest economic zones, with a population greater than the EU and economic growth of double the EU’s.”

The AsiaPac region also includes Australia, remarkable for enjoying more than 25 years of continuous growth.

The region offers particular opportunities right now for Irish businesses in sectors such as aviation, financial services, international education and construction & engineering.

But there are challenges too.

“With Asia, you can’t go in, do a bit of business, and come home. You have to be really committed to the market. You need a balance sheet that can withstand the investment and you need an understanding of the culture,” she said.

There are logistical challenges related to distance, cost, lack of relationships and the need for a local presence. It’s not a homogenous block either. “Each of these countries has different culture that we need to recognise and appreciate. The Western mentality – believing we have the answer to your problem – doesn’t go down well in AsiaPac, you have to listen, and have patience.”

Be aware of distinct operational requirements in markets such as China, said MJ Guan, a partner at the China Ireland Growth Technology Fund.

It isn’t a question of simply translating your marketing materials but of doing first hand, on the ground market research for yourself. “Don’t just rely on third party agents,” he said.

Localisation requires much more than translation too, as companies such as Google and Uber have discovered. To assume that just because your business is successful in the Western world it will be successful in the AsiaPac region is a mistake.

Trip wires can include not finding out if you can get a direct licence to operate in your sector, and, if not, partnering with a local business. If you sell B2B get your “China Pricing” right. “In China we like to ask for a high discount from a vendor. If you don’t give a discount the customer may think you are not serious about the business,” he said.

Guan was at the event representing the second China Ireland Growth Technology Fund, which is newly launched. It aims to support Irish companies looking to access the Chinese market, as well as Chinese firms looking to use Ireland as a European base.

Announced in March 2018 by Ireland’s sovereign wealth fund, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), and its Chinese equivalent, the CIC Capital Corporation (CIC Capital), the Euro 150 million fund is a successor to the now fully-invested China Ireland Technology Growth Fund launched in 2014.

That USD 100 million fund supported six Irish technology firms expanding into China, including Irish-founded Movidius, the global leader in machine vision technology that was subsequently acquired by Intel.

The new Fund will once again be co-managed by Dublin-based Atlantic Bridge and Beijing-based WestSummit Capital.

The sectors it is open to applications from are quite wide, said Elaine Coughlan, founding managing partner of Atlantic Bridge. They include agri-tech and med-tech, enterprise and consumer software, semi conductors and industry-4.0 “all the things China wants access to and wants to buy,” she said.

Even where a company is not ready for investment, the Fund can help applicants make contacts and start building crucial relationships.

“We look at thousands of companies on an annual basis and with a lot of them we say ‘You are not ready yet, here are some contacts, here are some relationships, do a little more work, a little more market research, and come back to us’” said Coughlan.

“It’s very rare we say ‘no, never’. We say ‘not now, come back to us’, and give them some pointers to think about in terms of execution. We’ve a portfolio now of companies – of CEOs, VPs (vice presidents) and BDs (business development executives) – who are in China and who can share that knowledge with other Irish companies.”

One company the Fund has already invested in is indoor positioning systems company Decawave, which currently has five people based in China.

“You need to get out there on the ground so use Enterprise Ireland and the Department of Foreign Affairs and all the resources open to you. There is always someone who can give you introductions,” said Paul Costigan, chief sales and marketing officer at Decawave.

Its technology is based around “really precise GPS that works indoors, with very many applications for robotics, drones, AI, automation and smart factories, all the areas that China is so far ahead in,” said Costigan. In fact, “China already accounts for 60% of our revenues and we haven’t even got going yet.”