The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD has described Dunleer firm Suretank as a ‘extraordinary success story’ and wants to see other firms in Ireland follow their lead.
As he looked around their new corporate centre on Shamrock Hill, he declared ‘this is the engine room of a global company and I want to see more companies like this. It’s a great honour to be here.’
The multi-million Euro investment at the Group’s head office in Dunleer, Ireland, supported by government through Enterprise Ireland, marks an important stage in the company’s history, a fact appreciated by the minister who officially opened the new building, accompanied by Mr Fergus O’Dowd TD and Deputy Gerald Nash on Friday.
The company has created 50 new jobs at its site in Dunleer in the last 12 months bringing the total number of employees in Ireland up to 185, with approximately 700 employees employed globally.
Customers travelled from the USA, Brazil, Nigeria, Norway, UK and the Netherlands to join in the celebrations at the opening.
Significant change has taken place within Suretank in recent months as it looks to expand into new markets and continue to grow. HitecVision, a leading investor in the international oil and gas industry, became the majority shareholder in the business in July 2013 and John Fitzgerald joined the company as the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer. Founder Patrick Joy admits it was a proud day for Dunleer and the area.
‘It’s great to drive through Dunleer and not see any closed up shops,’ he states.
When he started out in this business in 1995 he admits he never envisaged it growing to such a level. But his ability to read the market and develop ancillary products from 1999 has been a huge factor in its success.
‘Dunleer is our world headquarters in all of this,’ he proudly exclaims. ‘The engineering team is here and we want to do more value added work in Ireland.’
The firm had a turnover of $100m last year. Inside five years he wants it to be €250m ‘through organic growth and acquisitions’.
Source: envirocentre.ie