Drogheda Chamber Trade Mission to the United States
Town to lead way with Local Heroes Initiative
In the same week that the RTE Fergal Quinn programme, Local Heroes, a Town Fights Back airs on television, a delegation will depart for the United States to carry the message that Drogheda is open for business and investment with the Mayor Kevin Callan, and the President of the Chamber of Commerce Padraic Kierans partaking in a unique trade mission that will include meetings with several different business groups and the Irish Leadership Technology Group in Silicon Valley.
The trip follows on from a recent meeting held in Drogheda with the Mayor of Salinas, California Dennis Donohue who was in Ireland as part of the Irish American discussions held in Dublin which included speakers such as former President Bill Clinton. Paddy Callaghan of Natures Best who is also the chairperson of the Enterprise Team of the RTE Regeneration project will also travel with the delegation.
The Mayor, Kevin Callan said he was very enthusiastic about the opportunity for Drogheda to get the message out to a hugely influential group of Irish Americans and to key contacts in Silicon Valley.
“We have held discussions with the IDA and the Commercial Counsellor in the United States Embassy to date and the response has been very enthusiastic. What has been made very clear is that the short term approach we should be taking as a town and a region is towards the United States where there is tremendous goodwill and connections with the Irish diaspora. The key focus of this trip will be foreign direct investment and the message that our town is a key location for American companies seeking to locate in the European Union. Existing operations in Drogheda such as Coca Cola who have invested in excess of six million euros in their new premises, being the largest financial centre they have outside the United States and other companies such as State Street show we are serious contenders for such investment and the team travelling out will be setting this out in no uncertain terms.
Padraic Kierans, President of Drogheda & Chamber of Commerce, outlined how much work had already gone in to putting together a formidable presentation which the Drogheda team intend pitching in California.
“We have been busy seeking input to strengthen our ‘Invest Drogheda’ message, and have met with Jim Power (Economist), Louise Phelan (CEO of Paypal) and Aidy McGuinness of Sigmar Recruitment, all of whom have helped us to focus on communicating Drogheda’s unique value proposition, which sets us apart from other business base camps for the European Market. This will be Ireland’s 1st ever town led FDI mission to the USA, and is indicative of the feeling of belief and confidence the citizens and business people of Drogheda feel as a direct result of the RTE ‘Local Heroes initiative.”
The delegation will also include employment law, web technologies and agricultural science specialists who will present information on issues such as taxation, green data centres, agri and the employment environment in Ireland.
