*Photograph: Joe Buckley
Ei Electronics’ opening of a state of the art extension is to result in the addition of 200 jobs for the Shannon employer.
At a private event held at the brand new 10,000 square metre facility in the Shannon Free Zone, Ei Electronics Chief Executive, Mick Guinee announced that it would be filling 200 vacancies over the next two months as part of the building’s official opening.
Plans of the expansion were first reported in May 2019 with no official figure but on the jobs boost that would arise until this afternoon’s engagement. A select cohort of past employees were invited to the announcement which was closed to members of the public. The company is not to make an official statement until Monday morning, sources have told The Clare Echo.
An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin (FF) visited the Shannon company on Friday afternoon to officially open the extension for Shannon’s largest employer. The three storey, 10,000m2 building adjoins its existing headquarter and includes additional manufacturing capacity, R&D, and office space, and significantly expand its current production capacity over the coming years.
In 2017, Ei opened a centre of excellence, their new building is the first ‘Near Zero Energy Building’ (NZEB) in Shannon. Over 750 people are now employed by Ei Electronics which opened in Shannon in 1963. The company exports to 30 countries worldwide and also employs 100 people in its 5 wholly owned overseas subsidiaries in the UK, Germany, France, the USA and Poland.
Clare TD, Cathal Crowe (FF) said the confirmation of the jobs announcement was “a hugely positive endorsement of Shannon, Clare and the Midwest region as a whole”. He stated, “The Shannon Free Zone is proving time and time again to be a solid place to do business and EI’s success here is testament to that.
Deputy Crowe described Ei as “a stalwart for enterprise and employment in the region but even more importantly have been wonderful at giving back to the community over many years now. I’m very grateful to Mick and his management team for the positivity they bring to the Shannon community in general and not just with today’s announcement. The company is a fantastic one and they have always had my full support in all of their endeavours and will continue to do so”.
