Record day for Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Stobart Air
Today – Friday, 23 May – was the busiest day of operations for Aer Lingus Regional , operated by Stobart Air, since the airline signed its franchise agreement with Aer Lingus in March 2010. Over 5,500 passengers were booked to travel on 100 flights on all 27 of the airline’s routes. It is the second time since the franchise agreement that the airline has flown over 5,000 passengers in a single day. Due to strong demand, a number of extra flights were added on the airline’s routes today to Cardiff and Bristol for the Heineken Cup Final. The Kerry-Dublin route today continues to see strong demand. Last month the airline reported a 38pc increase in…
Read More42 New Jobs for Aspen in Citywest European Operations Centre
Aspen Pharma has announced 42 new jobs at its Citywest European operations centre. The new jobs will bring Aspen’s total workforce in Ireland to 100 within the next 12 months. The company, which supplies branded and generic pharmaceuticals in more than 150 countries, first operated in Ireland in 2010. In 2012, it also established a global regulatory, pharmacovigilance, quality assurance, and supply projects centre in Citywest. The announcement was made this morning by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton . Aspen’s investment is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise, and Innovation through IDA Ireland. The Minister described pharma as one of the Government’s key target sectors in its Action…
Read MoreDoneDeal sponsoring Setanta Sports FA Cup coverage
Online classified ads site DoneDeal announced today that it’s sponsoring Setanta Sports’s coverage of this year’s FA Cup. The sponsorship will include DoneDeal stings throughout the broadcast of 30 live games. The official announcement was made this morning at Setanta Sports offices with the FA Cup on hand. “There is a natural fit between DoneDeal and Ireland’s leading premium sports broadcaster,” said Irene Parker, marketing manager at DoneDeal. “We see the sponsorship of the prestigious FA Cup as the perfect platform to drive new traffic to the 60,000 listings in our cars section. This sponsorship is a key part of DoneDeal’s 2015 marketing strategy to grow our motoring section.” “The FA Cup…
Read MoreChambers ask for income tax details
Ian Talbot, chief executive of Chambers Ireland The waiting period before the budget announcement is impeding both business and consumer sentiment, says Chambers Ireland , as it calls for immediate access to personal income tax changes. Chambers Ireland , which represents 13,000 Irish businesses, said today that if significant changes are to apply to levies and other taxes, then businesses should be informed now. Chief executive Ian Talbot said it is unreasonable to expect employers to wait until December 7 to assess and plan for revised payroll processes. “They need adequate time to test and implement payroll software solutions for these changes in a timely and cost effective manner,” he said. Commenting on the imminent Budget,…
Read MoreBrand Champion – the Q&A series: Simon Demery
Brand champion – the Q&A series: Simon DemeryPictured: Simon Demery, general sales manager for Swizzels in Ireland Simon Demery is the general sales manager for Swizzels in Ireland where he is responsible for all aspects of the business with particular focus on the sales and marketing function in Ireland. He works closely with agents and customers to plan at least six to eight months in advance for key sales periods such as Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and key summer activity. Swizzels Matlow was established in 1928 and started as a market stall in Hackney, London. Today, the factory in New Mills now produces more than 14 tons of chew sweets,…
Read MoreCork school team wins national CanSat competition
A team of students from Scoil Mhuire Gan Smál in Blarney, Co Cork have won the 2015 Esero Ireland – CEIA National CanSat competition and will go on to represent Ireland at the European CanSat final in Portugal in June of this year. Eight teams from schools across Ireland took part in this space project to create a CanSat – a simulation of a real satellite which fits into the volume of a soft drinks can. At the final in Birr, Co Offaly, teams launched their CanSats using a quadcopter and a rocket (built by the Irish Rocketry Society), which after release at high altitudes, returned to earth safely using…
Read MoreBanks must embrace digital channels – PwC
NDRC Inventorium and IIA initiative to accelerate 20 SMEs into online trading Banks are under-utilising a vital new source of revenue growth as many have been slow to respond to the digital innovations, according to Ciarán Kelly, financial services partner, PwC, who addressed the Irish Banking Federation Conference this week. This is despite strong digital awareness and usage among bank customers and the fact that they have shown a willingness to pay for these, he said. Speaking at the conference, Kelly said: “Given the pressures the financial crisis has had on the banking sector, banks have understandably been slow to embrace the digital innovation customers now expect. Social media is changing customer…
Read MoreUrParts.com recognised for export focus after 18 months
Only 18 months since the site went live, UrParts.com won the gold prize for Export Startup of the Year at the Vodafone Startup Awards recently. It also won silver in the Digital/Online and Women in Business categories. Started by brother and sister team Simon and Sonya Fitzpatrick, the site connects buyers and suppliers of new and used spare parts around the world . It focuses on the spare parts industry for the construction, agricultural and commercial truck sectors and is 90pc export-driven.The Fitzpatricks came up with the concept having learned from the 40 years’ experience of the construction industry through their family business Fitzpatrick Plant Sales (Fitzplant). “By saving buyers time and money with their free service UrParts.com is becoming an invaluable resource to anyone who requires parts for excavators, bulldozers, tractors, dump trucks, wheel…
Read MoreCrowley Carbon launches boiler which could save Irish companies over €900m
Irish energy services company Crowley Carbon has launched a boiler aimed at the commercial and industrial market, which it says has been proven to deliver savings of up to 80pc on energy costs. Based on high pressure heat pump technology, the Thermal Server was developed in-house and is manufactured in Ireland. It can be driven by gas engine or electricity and utilises waste heat from manufacturing or geothermal sources to deliver low-cost hot water to businesses. This hot water can then be used in a wide range of installations, including breweries, dairies and other food processing plants. Over the past 24 months has been piloted within Dawn Meats in Ireland and the…
Read MoreJohnson & Johnson Vision Care investing €100m in Limerick manufacturing facility
Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, operating as Vistakon Ireland , is investing over €100m in expanding its Vistakon Ireland contact lens production facility in Limerick. The 18-month construction phase at the facility at the National Technology Park in Plassey is expected to create 200 temporary jobs. Vistakon Ireland was set up in Limerick in 1996 and is one of several Johnson & Johnson companies operating in Ireland. Between them the companies employ around 2,500 people. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care produces the Acuvue range of soft disposable contact lenses. “Limerick was chosen for this strategically important investment because of its track record over many years in providing quality products and excellent customer…
Read More