Troy concludes trade and investment mission to US and Mexico

• Westmeath companies, Mergon and Patterson Pump, meet with Minister Troy in USA

Robert Troy, Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, has concluded a five-day trade and investment mission to the United States and Mexico covering South Carolina, Georgia, Monterrey and Mexico City.

The trade mission, organised by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland, focused on boosting trade collaboration and supporting an accelerated export-led recovery of Irish businesses in international markets.

Minister Troy met senior executives in the talent technology, fintech, advanced manufacturing and digital technology sectors, supporting the growth of 26 Enterprise Ireland client companies and reaffirming Ireland as an ideal location for American and Mexican companies to establish and grow.

Speaking after the mission Minister Troy said: “The last five days visiting the four locations across the USA and Mexico proved to be an excellent opportunity to reaffirm Ireland as a home for innovative indigenous and international businesses to thrive and grow.

"I want to commend the teams from Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland who are flying the flag for Ireland day in and day out and supporting Irish companies export to new markets and promoting Ireland as a great place to do business.

"The past week I saw some of the best of Irish innovation, with companies from across Ireland delivering cutting edge solutions to markets in the USA and Mexico, as well as multinational companies who have chosen Ireland to establish presence and provide important investment in our regions.

“The US is Ireland’s biggest FDI contributor – some 160 of the 249 investments last year came from the US. In 2021, IDA clients from the US had almost 900 operations in Ireland, employing over 190,000 people directly and over 152,000 indirectly.

"It was an honour to meet with just some of those companies such as Patterson Pump in Georgia and who are a key regional employer with a presence in Mullingar since 1998 to discuss their experience in Ireland and their plans for the future."

“It’s important to note that FDI is a two-way street. Ireland is the ninth-largest source of FDI into the United States. Irish companies are significant employers in the US Southeast, and I was delighted to meet some of them during this mission including Mergon, a global leader in plastics manufacturing based in Castlepollard, while in Greenville, South Carolina.

"I had the opportunity to tour their facility and meet senior executives to discuss their continued success in the US market.

“A key focus of the past week was to foster key growth opportunities and collaboration between Ireland and the USA and Mexico, supporting early entrants and established Irish companies to expand key business relationships.

"This trade mission presented a terrific opportunity to promote Ireland as a world class business location, very much open for business, despite the challenges experienced globally over the last two years in two key markets, the USA and Mexico.”