Drogheda Delegation make impact in the US
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| Paddy Callaghan Graham O'Rourke Mayor Kevin Callan Tony Kerins Padraic Kierans & Ruth Clinton at the ITLG |
Last week saw a trade mission leave Drogheda for the United States to fulfil two full days of engagements to promote Drogheda and to open communications with Silicon Valley, the technology and capital of the world, and Salinas Valley, one of the most important agricultural centres of the United States.
The Invest Drogheda trip was the first of its kind and as part of the RTE Local Heroes Initiative brought great energy and enthusiasm to the campaign to regenerate the town and to fight the recession. The delegation was led by the Mayor, Kevin Callan and the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Padraic Kierans and included several meetings and presentations in the cities of San Jose and Sallinas where they met with key members of the Irish American business, technology, and agricultural sectors.
The Mayor said that the reason for the mission was clear, “we knew that we had to present the case for Drogheda, that this is the finest location for any multinational or US based company looking for access to key European markets with companies such as Coca Cola and State Street giving testimonials which we were able to use effectively during our meetings and during our presentation to the Irish Technology Leadership Group. We also knew that we needed to create enduring relationships with our counterparts in California to ensure we work together in the coming years, this is something that we have definitely achieved”.
The trip was arranged following a recent meeting held in Drogheda with Paddy Callaghan of Natures Best, who is the chairperson of the Enterprise Team of the RTE Regeneration project, and the Mayor of Salinas, California Dennis Donohue who was in Ireland as part of the Global Forum discussions held in Dublin which included speakers such as former President Bill Clinton. “We have a common link, our Irish connection and we have been very touched by the warm reception we have received from our Irish American friends and this is definitely the start of positive relations which will produce benefits for our communities and it is clear that Silicon Valley offers us opportunities in respect of inward investment and in the technology in particular, the neighbouring Salinas Valley and the city of Salinas with a population of 150,000 gives us an excellent connection through agriculture as it is commonly known as the Salad Bowl of the United States and contains some of the most productive land in the world”, said the Mayor.
The mission began with a meeting with the former Mayor of City of San Jose, Tom Mc Enery and this was followed by a meeting with the Irish Technology Leadership Group where the delegation including the Mayor, President of the Chamber, Paddy Callaghan of Natures Best, Graham O’Rourke of Mor Solutions, Rory Mullen, Vice President of the IDA in the Western United States, Michael Curran, Head of Economic Development in Louth County Council and Ruth Clinton representing IAS and OCAE Agricultural Consultancy and Tony Kerins of Peninsula Ireland Employment Services all highlighted the benefits to locating in the Eastern region and in Drogheda. The group were also accompanied by Emer Dunne of Animo Productions representing RTE who prepared a video on Drogheda as an investment location. This was the main event on the trip and focused attention on Drogheda and the Boyne Valley area. The key message was access, to qualified staff, infrastructure, sea ports, Dublin Airport and Europe.
The ITLG meeting was held in the Irish Innovation Centre in downtown San Jose where many national Irish leaders including Taoisigh had visited. The Drogheda delegation also visited the San Jose City Chamber of Commerce where a meeting was held with Vice President Pat Sausedo who discussed cooperation between the two communities and the opening of channels of communication. The Mayor of Salinas, Dennis Donohue in a joint radio interview on Salinas City Radio with Mayor Callan also recommended that a sister city relationship would be a productive endeavour and the Mayor stated that he would certainly raise this possibility with the members of Drogheda Borough Council at the next meeting of the Council to be held on the 5thDecember.
The Group also attended the National Steinbeck Centre in the city of Salinas where they were treated to Irish dancing by the Spirit of Salinas Dancers who were world champions in Dublin two years ago and also visited with the Chinese Association of Salinas and were given tours of local agricultural businesses such as Taylors Farms where 1000 people are employed in leafy salad processing that supplies most of the United States.
Padraic Kierans, President of Drogheda & Chamber of Commerce, was delighted with the reception received by the Invest Drogheda delegation, ‘We pitched for Drogheda using the wonderful VT created for us by Animo TV, combined with the expertise and ambitious presentation of the delegation, we strode out for Drogheda with real intent and have made some cracking connections. We have planted seeds for Drogheda which we must now nourish and grow. It was a privilege to be involved with the visit, and the welcome we received from Mayor Dennis Donohue was overwhelming.”
Mr. Kierans was also full of praise for the ITLG and IDA California, “It was insightful to engage with economic visionaries like Tom McEnery and John Hartnett, we suggested linkage between their innovation centre in San Jose and our own soon to be delivered Drogheda Enterprise Centre, it would be fantastic to see our top tech entrepreneurs interacting with their counterparts in Silicon Valley. We were encouraged by Rory Mullen of IDA California not to allow this to be a singular visit or event, but to return again and make this an Invest Drogheda process. I would like to thank the whole delegation for putting everything possible into delivering for Invest Drogheda.”
