The IE Professional #124a 10/22/97 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit ======================================================================= THE IE PROFESSIONAL _______________________________________________________________________ Issue No.124 October 22, 1997 Circulation: 9,988 ======================================================================= http://www.emigrant.ie/ The IE Professional is a free weekly newsletter from the publishers of the Irish Emigrant. Please forward copies to anyone who you think may be interested. They can automatically add themselves to the distribution by sending mail to with a subject of "subscribe". CONTENTS BUSINESS NEWS: - 650 new jobs for Waterford in IR43m investment by Bausch & Lomb - Sun strengthens European software operations with new call centre - Digital Equipment reports a net profit of $25m for first quarter - Lionbridge Technologies establishing testing facility in Ballina - Avonmore Waterford Group disposes of US company for IR10m - 17% fewer Northern Ireland firms closed in 1997 - Newry and US firm agree joint venture to tackle waste management - Esat Telecom launches first phase of Dublin city fibre-optic network - 34 jobs to go with planned closure of Radiac Abrasives, Kerry - Stg157m Hualon textile project to proceed in Belfast - IDA Ireland searching for suitable buyer for Asahi textile plant - Survey highlights growth issues in software industry - British Telecom/ESB joint venture more definite - Trintech claims first secure Internet transaction - Boxmore reports 12% growth in pre-tax profits and revenues - Elan to buy out joint venture partners; 45% growth in profits - Iona Technologies records 125% growth in third quarter revenues - Rapid Technology Group to join DCM; planning expansion in the US - Increased capacity and lower fares from Ryanair - European Commission's ruling on Guinness/Grand Met merger - Japan's largest pharmaceuticals company comes to Ireland - Conference on "Human Resource Engineering" APPOINTMENTS: - Former DEC Galway manager behind hi-tech start-up in San Jose - Telecommunications software solutions company Accuris appoints MD FINANCIAL: - Exchange rates - Dublin closing prices - Leading Companies - Leading Multinationals in Ireland - stock prices ACADEMIC: - National Institute of Technology Management launched at UCD - Garret Fitzgerald appointed chancellor of NUI - UCD mechanical engineering graduate wins Hewlett-Packard Award - Commission has begun assessment of points system - UCC President criticises "cap" on funding for higher education - "Women Living Longer" conference at UCD - Notre Dame University expanding Irish studies programme in Dublin JOB ADVERTISEMENTS: - National Centre for Technology in Education, DCU: Director; Co-ordinators - Analog Devices, Limerick: Equipment Engineering and Maintenance - Accuris, Dublin: Software Engineers Graduate Software Engineers Senior Software Engineers Support Engineers Database Administrator Business Analysts - Lucent Technologies, Bray, Co. Dublin: Process Engineer Fibre Optic Process Engineer Mobile Network RF Planning and Optimisation Engineers - ESB, Dublin: Group Finance Director - Dublin Institute of Technology: Information Systems Manager - EMC Ireland, Ovens, Co. Cork: UNIX Specialists; MVS Specialists - Optronics Ireland Ltd, DCU: Scientist/Engineers in Optical Sensors/ Applied Spectroscopy EDUCATION PROGRAMMES: - University College Dublin: MSc in Technology Management > > > > > > > > > BUSINESS NEWS < < < < < < < < < 650 NEW JOBS FOR WATERFORD IN IR43M INVESTMENT BY BAUSCH & LOMB - Bausch & Lomb has announced a IR43m IDA-backed expansion at its contact lenses manufacturing plant in Waterford city, doubling the size of the lens facility, creating 650 jobs for engineering graduates and school leavers over the next three years. Confirmation of the project comes very soon after local management had confirmed that the Waterford plant was being considered by its parent company for additional business. Making the announcement on Monday, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Harney said the project was won by Waterford against very tough competition from other manufacturing locations within the corporation. Bausch & Lomb's vice-president of global operations, Dr Tom Lance, said the grant aid offered by the IDA had been "a determining factor" in the selection of Waterford. The company started the manufacture of lenses in Waterford in 1980 and added a second factory, producing Ray Ban sunglasses, two years later. Together the plants currently employ over 1,000 in total. SUN STRENGTHENS EUROPEAN SOFTWARE OPERATIONS WITH NEW CALL CENTRE - Sun Microsystems has established a new pan-European call centre at the company's strategic European Software Centre in Dublin where 100 are employed. The new call centre will initially employ up to 20 people offering a single point of contact for all European sales and marketing inquiries. The announcement was made last Monday at the official opening of Sun's new IR4.5m European Software Centre at the East Point Business Park in Dublin. Commenting on the decision to locate its call centre in Dublin, Mike Rogers, Sun's Director of Global Engineering and Information Services, said, "We looked at sites throughout Europe and were impressed in every respect with the ease with which this investment could become operational in Ireland. Technological infrastructure, adequate telecommunications availability and the immediate availability of skilled people were key to this decision". Since establishing in Ireland, Sun has formed strong relationships with universities and research institutions. Last week Sun reported record revenues for the first quarter which ended September 28, 1997. These rose 13% to $2.099bn. Net income for the first quarter, excluding one-time charges, related to acquisitions, was $163.2m, an increase of 32% from the previous year's results. First quarter earnings per share, excluding these one-time charges, was $0.41, an increase of 28%. DIGITAL EQUIPMENT REPORTS A NET PROFIT OF $25M FOR FIRST QUARTER - Digital Equipment Corporation, which employs 1,100 people in Ireland, has reported first quarter net income of $25 million, or $0.11 per share. This compares with a net loss of $66m, or $0.48 per share for the same period last year. Total operating revenue for the quarter was $2.96bn, up 2% compared with the $2.91bn reported for the same quarter last year. While separate results for the Irish or European operations are not available, chief financial officer Vincent Mullarkey said revenue growth in Europe was in double digits. Peter Donnelly, chief executive of Digital Ireland, did comment that the local operation had experienced "growth in all of our business areas", with particularly strong growth in "PC sales, Alpha product sales and our new services areas". Wilf Regan, General Manager of the European Software Centre in Galway, said that publishing, development, manufacturing and telecentre activities showed good progress and Internet communications business was particularly strong. LIONBRIDGE TECHNOLOGIES ESTABLISHING TESTING FACILITY IN BALLINA - Lionbridge Technologies, the Boston-based software localisation specialist which already employs 100 people at Blackrock, Co. Dublin, has announced the establishment of a new facility in Ireland to provide software quality assurance ("SQA") services to software publishers and hardware manufacturers. The dedicated product testing lab will be located in an advance factory in Ballina, Co. Mayo and the company hopes to employ up to 50 professionals in its first year and at least 100 by the year 2000. To date Lionbridge has concentrated on providing localisation services on contract to major software companies, but according to Lionbridge's president and CEO, Rory J. Cowan, its expansion into testing has been a logical step for the company and one which he says "will play a major part in Lionbridge's future expansion plans". Mr Cowan added that "the Ballina facility will be a model for our planned expansion in Beijing sometime next year." The company was founded in 1996 as a management buyout of the Language Solutions business of Stream International and has operations in Amsterdam, Paris, Sophia Antipolis, Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo. Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Harney, speaking of Ballina, described it as "a vote of confidence in the town and its ability to deliver a quality workforce". For further information on Lionbridge Technologies, visit AVONMORE WATERFORD GROUP DISPOSES OF US COMPANY FOR IR10M - The Avonmore Waterford Group (AWG) has agreed the sale of one of its US companies, Waterford Food Products Inc. of Wisconsin, to the Dutch food group Gistbrocades for IR10m. While discussions on the sale were underway prior to the merger of the two food companies, AWG says the sale is consistent with the merged group's strategy of concentrating on its US core businesses of cheese and dairy food ingredients. According to analysts, other disposals are likely to follow as part of AWG's rationalisation plans. 17% FEWER NORTHERN IRELAND FIRMS CLOSED IN 1997 - Figures just published by Dun & Bradstreet reveal that business failures are down by 17% for the first nine months of this year in Northern Ireland when compared with the same period in 1996. While the data has been welcomed, the third quarter figures show that almost twice as many firms went bankrupt in this period than the third quarter of last year. Forty-three firms were liquidated and 76 declared bankrupt during the three month period, with the service sector worst affected. NEWRY AND US FIRM AGREE JOINT VENTURE TO TACKLE WASTE MANAGEMENT - The US Department of Commerce's trade mission to the North this week has already yielded dividends for two of the companies involved. FM Systems of Newry and Schloss Engineered Equipment have formed a joint venture company, FM Schloss, which will manufacture water and waste treatment systems for distribution in the European market. Representatives of both companies pointed out that the arrangement was one which suited their strategic development in the European market. It is also expected to result in the creation of 70 new jobs in the North within the next twelve months. Ellis Mottur, the US Acting Assistant Secretary for Trade Development, who is leading this week's mission, expressed his optimism that this would be the first of many business agreements to be made between US and Northern Ireland companies participating in the trade mission. ESAT TELECOM LAUNCHES FIRST PHASE OF DUBLIN CITY FIBRE-OPTIC NETWORK - Esat Telecom has announced completion of the first phase of its Dublin city fibre-optic network. The project, expected to cost IR100m in total, commenced just a few months ago and when complete will offer a service to Dublin's business community in opposition to Telecom Eireann. Last week, Esat's parent company declared its intention to seek a listing on New York's NASDAQ market before Christmas. According to the company the bulk of the funds from the flotation, which is expected to yield IR53m, will be used to strengthen Esat's telecommunications infrastructure. 34 JOBS TO GO WITH PLANNED CLOSURE OF RADIAC ABRASIVES, KERRY - Radiac Abrasives, which has operated in the Co. Kerry town of Castleisland for over 22 years, has announced that it will close by March of next year with the loss of all 34 jobs at the factory. The company produces rubber bonding and abrasive products. The plant's operations have been under review since May of this year when a decision was made to transfer one of its product lines to an alternative manufacturing site in Mexico. The change was part of a worldwide review of its operations in which the cheaper labour costs in Mexico swayed the decision. The company's general manager, Liam Brosnan, said negotiations would take place to agree redundancy terms for employees, most of whom are members of SIPTU. The local SIPTU representative, Donal Tobin, expressed his surprise at the decision to close the plant and indicated that the workforce had achieved productivity gains during the last six months in an effort to safeguard their jobs. STG157M HUALON TEXTILE PROJECT TO PROCEED IN BELFAST - This week a spokesman for the Taiwanese textile company Hualon restated his company's intentions to proceed with its Stg157m investment planned for Mallusk, outside Belfast. The project had been opposed by opposition from UK and European textile companies since it originally received the approval of the Industrial Development Board (IDB) in June 1994. They argued that the level of IDB subsidies which had been committed to the company to locate in the North offered it an unfair advantage. However this argument was not accepted by the European Commission and more recently by the European Court of Appeal. While the company would not confirm whether the original jobs target of 1,800 was still relevant, the company and the IDB are understood to be meeting soon "to discuss the way forward". IDA IRELAND SEARCHING FOR SUITABLE BUYER FOR ASAHI TEXTILE PLANT - IDA Ireland are understood to be in ongoing negotiations with an interested buyer for the Asahi textile plant located at Killala, Co. Mayo. A decision to close the plant, with the loss of all 315 jobs, was made last July when its Japanese parent said it could not sustain the continued heavy losses, and an attempted management buy-out was rejected by the workforce. While industry sources remain sceptical about the survival of the plant as a going concern, given the current state of the worldwide textile industry, the IDA is believed to be considering alternative uses for the plant. SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS GROWTH ISSUES IN SOFTWARE INDUSTRY - A new report on the Irish software industry, produced by consultancy firm Prospectus in association with Forbairt, was launched by the Minister for Science, Technology and Commerce Noel Treacy this week. The findings of the report, entitled "Strategies for sustainable growth - the software industry in Ireland", are based on replies to questionnaires which were received from 59 companies or 10% of all software companies in Ireland. The Minister was pleased that the study confirmed indications that employment in the software industry will exceed 20,000 by the year 2000. The rate of growth in the indigenous Irish software sector is 15% per annum, 53% of the responding companies hope to double sales within the next three years and forecast employment growth of 25% - a doubling of employment within the next three years. Growth prospects appear to be based primarily around new product developments and entry to new foreign markets. State support rated ahead of venture capital as the expected source of external finance for all companies, irrespective of size, who see state financial support as "critical" to their future growth. According to David Duffy, managing director of Prospectus, an area of concern highlighted by the study is that over half the respondents rated themselves either "inadequate" or "fair" in human resource management yet 80% of the companies had undergone substantial organisational change in the past three years. Details of the report are available from Prospectus at +3531-260-3122. BRITISH TELECOM/ESB JOINT VENTURE MORE DEFINITE - The proposed joint venture between British Telecom and the ESB has been brought one step closer to reality with news that the board of BT has approved the deal. The two companies have been in discussion for several months now on combining forces to build an alternative telecommunications network which would compete with Telecom Eireann. The two companies are expected to make a formal announcement on the venture before Christmas. TRINTECH CLAIMS FIRST SECURE INTERNET TRANSACTION - Irish software company Trintech has claimed the completion of the first secure purchase on the Internet using their software packages, PayPurse and PayWare, which are based on the global standard for such transactions, SET (secure electronic transaction). Last June Trintech, in conjunction with Microsoft and Bank of Ireland, announced their participation in the project which was then described as "the world's largest pilot for secure payments over the Internet". The pilot programme was organised by Visa International and involved 80 banks in 16 countries and the first online transaction was carried out by the president of Visa in Argentina, Dr Egidio Ianella, when he purchased a bottle of wine from a well-known supermarket chain! Managing director of Trintech Cyril McGuire says that Bank of Ireland will be the first Irish institution to make secure transactions available in Ireland. Trintech was set up in 1986 and employs 115 people in offices in the USA, the UK, Germany, Singapore and Ireland. It is one of the new breed of high-tech indigenous companies which is expected to seek a NASDAQ listing next year. For further details of the company see . BOXMORE REPORTS 12% GROWTH IN PRE-TAX PROFITS AND REVENUES - Northern Ireland's Boxmore Packaging Group has reported 12% growth in both pre-tax profits and revenues to Stg8.6m and Stg50.9m respectively for the first half of 1997. The results are in line with analysts' expectations and full-year profits are still expected to reach Stg16.5m. ELAN TO BUY OUT JOINT VENTURE PARTNERS; 45% GROWTH IN PROFITS - The Athlone-based pharmaceutical company Elan Corporation has reached agreement to acquire the remaining interest in the two joint venture companies which, prior to now, have been responsible for selling its products in Ireland and the UK. In the UK it will acquire Elan Pharma from its joint venture partner Warner Lambert, while at home it will buy out Parke-Davis' share of Elan Ireland. The deal is expected to increase Elan's earnings by over IR10m. Meanwhile the company has again recorded increased profits in its third quarter, reporting a 45% increase in pre-tax profits to $124m while sales rose from $226m to $280m. IONA TECHNOLOGIES RECORDS 125% GROWTH IN THIRD QUARTER REVENUES - Dublin-based Iona Technologies has announced record revenues of $12.9m for the third quarter of 1997, compared with $5.7m in the corresponding period last year, an increase of 125%. The company reported net income of $1.9m, or $0.10 per share, compared with a loss of $1.0m, or $0.06 per share in the corresponding period of 1996. During the third quarter, IONA announced a range of new products and extensions to Orbix. IONA also opened new offices in Hong Kong, the UK and Germany and announced new resellers in France and Australia. RAPID TECHNOLOGY GROUP TO JOIN DCM; PLANNING EXPANSION IN THE US - Rapid Technology Group is set to become the third company to join Dublin's Developing Companies Market (DCM) with its announcement that it will seek a listing next month. It is also planning a simultaneous flotation on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM). It plans to offer 20% of the company shares for sale and hopes to raise IR5m which it says it will use for product development and to expand in the US market. The company, which currently employs 10 people in Dublin and three in its Dallas office, also plans to recruit a further five to six employees in the US before Christmas. The group manufactures a specialised keyboard (Graphic Use Interface) and related software which is already in use by retail outlets in the US. RTG's development officer Jim Barry, who designed the keyboard, believes the product would also find applications in the financial services sector. INCREASED CAPACITY AND LOWER FARES FROM RYANAIR - Independent Irish airline company Ryanair has announced its winter schedule of services which it claims has increased by 40% on last year. More flights will be added on its Dublin-Brussels, Dublin-London and Knock-Stansted routes. It has also lowered its fares on these routes and made available 100,000 seats at a one-way fare of IR19 for the London, Brussels and Paris destinations during the winter months. The airline is in discussion with United States' Continental Airlines about a possible sales link-up between the two companies. Continental plans to fly from Newark, New Jersey into Dublin and Shannon next year. Ryanair's chairman, US businessman David Bonderman, is a major shareholder in both companies. Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary said it will seek a listing on the London stock exchange sometime next year, but it plans to add more flights from London to other European destinations before doing so. EUROPEAN COMMISSION'S RULING ON GUINNESS/GRAND MET MERGER - Guinness may be forced to sell its minority shareholdings in a number of Irish drinks distributors, in an effort to meet the requirements of the European Commission in its bid to merge with Grand Met. The Stg24bn merger of the two companies had been referred to the commission and Guinness has agreed to set up a review group to investigate its options and report back after 15 months. Cantrell & Cochrane and Edward Dillon are two companies in which Guinness owns minority shareholdings and these are expected to be included in the review. However speculation in the markets is that Guinness may also have to forego its decision to acquire the remaining 70% of United Beverages. Last June it decided to buy out the company for IR33m but the deal is currently under review by the Competition Authority. JAPAN'S LARGEST PHARMACEUTICALS COMPANY COMES TO IRELAND - Japan's largest pharmaceuticals company, Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd., has announced that it is to acquire the Grelan Corporation Ireland facility in Bray, Co. Wicklow to develop its manufacturing facility for the European and US markets. Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd. employs over 10,000 people, with a global turnover in excess of $5bn. The company chose Ireland after investigating over the past year a number of sites across Europe. Commenting on the announcement Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs, Tom Kitt said, "the announcement by Takeda confirms Ireland's status as a leading European healthcare location. Already over 200 overseas pharmaceutical, chemical and healthcare companies use Ireland to manufacture and market a wide range of products .... They include 13 of the world's top pharmaceutical companies and 10 of the world's top 15 medical products companies". CONFERENCE ON "HUMAN RESOURCE ENGINEERING" - The Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) is organising a conference entitled "Human Resource Engineering" at Castle Troy Hotel, Limerick, on Friday November 28. For further queries and booking information contact Catherine Reid, Administrator, Institute of Industrial Engineers, P.O. Box 790, Kilgobbin Road, Sandyford, Dublin 18, Ireland. Tel/Fax: +353-1 -294-3131. > > > > > > > > > APPOINTMENTS < < < < < < < < FORMER DEC GALWAY MANAGER BEHIND HI-TECH START-UP IN SAN JOSE - Bob Graham, who spent a number of years in Galway as Digital's European Manufacturing IT Manager, is behind a new Silicon Valley start-up company focusing on mass storage solutions for the NT server market. Ridge Technologies will specialise in "high-quality, easy to administer, lower-cost and highly available storage solutions for the mid-range NT server market, with emphasis on RAID and Fibre Channel technologies". The company plans to ship its first products in the first half of 1998. Mr Graham was a vice-president with Sun Microsystems before co-founding Manufacturers' Services Ltd which has a facility in Athlone. In his new venture, which has the backing of RAID controller technology developer Adaptec, he has drawn together a management team with a broad range of experience as senior executives with Sun and Apple Computer - including Jim McCluney who has just resigned as a senior VP with Apple and who was once a colleague of Mr Graham's at Digital. A leading IT analyst has predicted that storage spending for NT servers will triple to more than $10bn by 2001. For more on the company see . TELECOMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS COMPANY ACCURIS APPOINTS MD - Accuris Limited, the telecom software solutions company, has appointed Martin McBride as its Managing Director. Martin has recently returned from the UK where he was the European Group IT Director for Motorola. Accuris is a joint venture software company, created by its strategic partners Telecom Eireann, KPN of Netherlands and Telia of Sweden. The company will provide specific IT solutions in core telecomm related activities. Accuris provides telecommunications related software solutions to its parent companies and their affiliates and will market its services to other telecommunications companies. According to a company spokesman, the decision to locate in Ireland is a reflection of the strength of the country's software industry and the availability of top quality graduates with software skills. Accuris already employs 67 people and is expected to create over 300 jobs in the next five years. > > > > > > > > > FINANCIAL < < < < < < < < < Exchange Rates - Wednesday midday: IRISH POUND OCT 22 OCT 15 Sterling 89.40 90.77 US Dollar 1.4626 1.4530 Deutschmark 2.6069 2.5404 French franc 8.7367 8.6780 Dutch guilder 2.9372 2.9076 Belgian franc 53.73 53.23 Danish krone 9.9256 9.8310 Italian lira 2544.05 2523.82 Greek Drachma 405.27 405.87 Spanish peseta 219.78 227.67 Portuguese escudo 265.30 262.11 Japanese yen 176.51 178.80 Swiss franc 2.1589 2.1523 Swedish krona 11.2238 11.1715 Norwegian krone 10.5721 10.4181 Finnish markka 7.8050 7.7371 Austrian schilling 18.35 18.16 Hong Kong dollar 11.3344 11.3984 Canadian dollar 2.0349 1.9996 Australian dollar 2.0679 2.0095 European Currency Unit 1.3214 1.3146 Dublin Interbank Market: - One Month, Offer=6. 1/4 Bid=6. 1/18 DUBLIN PRICES (Wednesday Closing) - Leading Companies: Oct 22 Oct 15 97 Hi 97 Lo AIB 597.0 605.0 640.0 391.0 Avonmore 26050 260.0 315.0 175.0 Bank of Ireland 8720 880 0 849.0 535.0 CRH 827.5 835.0 756.0 608.0 Elan Corporation 3572.0 3755.0 3901.0 1946.0 Fitzwilton 47.0 47.0 58.5 47.0 Fyffes 1050 100.0 130.0 89.0 Golden Vale 77.0 79.0 81.0 53.0 Greencore 316.0 340.0 392.0 312.5 Independent 400.0 400.0 460.0 300.0 Irish Life 378.0 387.0 375.0 333.75 Irish Permanent 665.0 685.0 673.0 485.0 Ivernia 113.0 111.5 115.0 78.0 Kerry Group 845.0 845.0 640.0 558.0 Mackies Eng 25.5 25.5 165.0 20.0 Powerscreen 838.5 843.5 745.5 577.0 Ryanair 375.0 395.0 418.5 315.0 Smurfit Group 226 0 223.0 235.0 153.75 Waterford Wedgwood 87.0 87.0 95.0 76.0 ISEQ Overall Index 3857.38 3906.38 3924.06 2619.20 -------------------------------end part 1------------------------------ continued in part 2... ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytire-10.22.97-22:44:20-7281