US firm says graduate pool a factor in Dundalk decision

THE POOL of third-level graduates available through the local Institute of Technology was a significant factor in Dundalk being chosen as the location for the European operations centre of US company Netezza, according to company executives.

Senior vice-president Patrick J Scannell jnr said the town "is a centre of excellence for talent because of its proximity to universities and DKIT . Just as we do in the US, we are right next to a technical university".

In Massachusetts, the company is beside the world renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology and it tries to replicate that in its overseas operations.

Netezza has the support of IDA Ireland as well as its European operations. Dundalk will also house its European financial headquarters which will create 65 jobs over the next five years.

Netezza provides data warehouse equipment which helps store, retrieve and analyse large amounts of data. It can integrate database, server, and storage functions, thereby allowing customers to quickly analyse large amounts of data at lower costs than traditional data warehouses.

Its client base includes government agencies and companies in data-intensive fields such as telecommunications, financial services, e-business, retail, analytic service providers and healthcare. Customers include Orange UK and Amazon.com.

Welcoming the announcement, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said: "This jobs announcement underlines the continuing strength of economy and in particular the attractiveness of the northeast as an investment location.

"We have a steady supply of graduates and skilled personnel while Dundalk's location midway between Dublin and Belfast - on pivotal rail and motorway links funded by Government cash and less than an hour from Dublin airport - makes it a location of choice for investors.

"We are certainly facing tougher times but our fundamentals as a knowledgebased economy with a highly skilled and trained workforce should help to ensure that as a nation we can continue to create jobs and underpin longer term development."