Private health insurance firm Laya Healthcare is to create 100 jobs in Cork over the next three years.

The former Quinn Healthcare firm, which employs 343 people at its Cork headquarters, made the announcement at its official launch today.

The company is Ireland’s second largest private health insurer and has 450,000 members.

Managing director Dónal Clancy said Laya would position itself as a “key consumer champion” in the private health insurance market.

“All of us involved in the sector recognise that there are significant issues and problems which need to be resolved,” he said. “For our part we, at Laya Healthcare, will do everything possible to ensure that our members have a strong voice from within the industry to champion their cause and to add positively to the national healthcare debate.”

Laya also announced a new cardiac screening initiative today, which will allow members from 12 years and upwards to avail of preventative screening.

It was developed to help identify and prevent heart conditions at an early stage in a bid to prevent Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS).

Apple plans to construct a three-storey office block next to its existing plant in the city.

This will cater for the expansion of its business in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa.

Apple has been in Cork for 30 years. It currently employs 2,800 people in the city and its business is booming.

In the three months October to December last year, revenues in markets serviced by Apple’s Cork plant grew 55% year-on-year.

This growth is that Apple has out-grown its European headquarters at Hollyhill in Cork and more than 400 staff now work out of 30,000 square feet of leased office space in the Owen O’Callaghan re-developed Half Moon Street in the city centre.

Now Apple is expanding in Cork again. Apple’s senior director for Corporate Communications, Alan Hely, has confirmed to RTE News that the company plans to increase its workforce in the city by 500 to 3,300 over the next 18 months. He said the company was “thrilled” to make the announcement.

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton and senior officials in IDA Ireland have been involved in meetings on the project here and with Apple management in the US over several months.

“This development continues the strong trend of investment over the past years in Ireland, in particular from global ICT companies and demonstrates Ireland’s continuing success in attracting FDI additional investment,” commented IDA Ireland’s chief executive Barry O’Leary.

Irish Examiner reports that cloud computing and data management firm Quest Software is to announce the creation of 150 jobs in Cork on Thursday. Quest Software is to set up an international shared services centre and it is expected the new jobs will come on stream over the next three years. The jobs being created will be in finance, software renewals, sales and software development. The investment is expected to have the potential to grow to 300 jobs over the next three years, according to industry sources.

The Irish Times reports that UCC is on target to spin out four companies this year, the latest being ThinkSmart Technologies. ThinkSmart, which has licensed technology developed at the Cork Constraint Computing Centre (4C) in UCC, has the potential to create 30 new jobs over the next four years, according to Chief Executive Brendan O’Brien. ThinkSmart has already signed up a Fortune 500 company as a customer for its optimisation technology, which allows large companies to make the best use of limited resources.

Yves Rocher, the French worldwide Botanical Beauty brand, today announced a €3.7 million investment in the company’s Cork facility, located in the Kilbarry Business Park on Dublin Hill. The investment will see the company upgrade the fabrication and manufacturing areas of the plant with the introduction of clean room technology to the site. The investment is expected to create up to 30 jobs during construction and installation of the new facilities.

Yves Rocher came to Cork in 1981 and established its current facility in 1984. The Cork facility plays a key role for Yves Rocher, manufacturing products to final customer specification. The company has grown employment from 200 to 270 over the last 18 months. The site exported 66 million units of high quality skin care products in 2010 and that figure is projected to grow to 88 million units by 2015.

Minister for Trade and Commerce, Billy Kelleher T.D., said that the investment was a sign of confidence in Ireland as a manufacturing location. “The Yves Rocher site has seen fantastic growth over the last 18 months and the performance of the Cork facility has been recognised at the highest levels of the company with today’s investment announcement. It is a credit to the skilled and dedicated workforce here in Cork that Yves Rocher has the confidence to invest in this site for the long term.”

Jacques Rocher, President of the Yves Rocher Foundation, said that the investment was a recognition of the dedication and quality of the company’s Cork facility. “The Cork facility has been a key element of the Yves Rocher network since it was established in 1981. With the investment announced today, the Cork facility will remain the main producer for strategic Yves Rocher’s brands such as Riche Crème Pure Calmille, Arnica and the newly launched Serum Vegetale.”

Emmanuel Warnier, General Manager of the Yves Rocher facility in Cork, said that the investment was both a sign of confidence in Yves Rocher Ireland and a challenge for the site for the future. “We are delighted with today’s announcement of investment in the Cork facility. The Group has set ambitious growth targets for us, increasing production by a 1/3 over the next four years. We will have to continue to raise our standard of operations and improve our processes to ensure that we are delivering better value products to our customer worldwide. The investment will help to sustain the 270 current jobs and to upskill our staff.”

The Irish Times reports that mobile phone accessory maker Otterbox is to create 50 jobs in Cork over the next two years when it establishes its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) headquarters in the city. The jobs will be in sales, customer service, accounting, engineering, public relations, marketing, web design, graphics, supply chain, human resources and warehousing.

Cork, September 27th, 2010 – Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation Batt O’Keeffe TD today announced that OtterBox® , an innovator of protective solutions for  leading global handheld manufacturers, wireless carriers and distributors, is establishing its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) HQ in Cork, creating up to 50 jobs over 2 years.  The company is being supported by Government through IDA Ireland.

OtterBox designs and produces device specific protective covers for high value smartphones and handheld devices. Incorporating creativity and cutting-edge design into every product, OtterBox creates sleek and durable cases that offer reliable device protection.  The activities to be carried out from the Cork site will include in-house sales, customer service, accounting, engineering, public relations, marketing, web design, graphics, supply chain, human resources and warehousing.

Making today’s announcement Minister O’Keeffe said that “OtterBox is an innovative firm that has grown rapidly in line with an expanding smartphone market.  OtterBox is a market-leader in the design and production of high-quality and durable protective covers for the handheld mobile phone market.  The firm’s decision to establish its EMEA headquarters in Cork reaffirms the county’s global reputation as a hub for innovation and advanced product design and production, with access to an educated and skilled workforce and modern transport infrastructure.  The Cork operation will be at the heart of the firm’s global growth.”

OtterBox is an innovative company which has experienced exceptional growth in recent years due to the expansion of the smartphone market.  The Cork operation is at the heart of the company’s future growth strategy to expand its footprint globally.”

Speaking about the announcement Matt Clark, Managing Director OtterBox EMEA, said “This has been a very exciting year for OtterBox with the opening of the EMEA office here in Cork and also OtterBox’s inclusion on the INC 500 list of fastest growing companies in the United States. As the company expands, we are looking to firmly establish our presence in the EMEA market and Cork is the perfect location for that with its access to Europe, the Middle East and Africa as well as our headquarters in Colorado.”
 
Welcoming today’s announcement, IDA Ireland, CEO Barry O’Leary said “IDA recognises the importance and potential of attracting emerging, high growth companies such as OtterBox to Ireland.  The company has achieved phenomenal growth to date in the US and plans to replicate this success in the EMEA region through its new operation in Cork.  I am confident that as the demand for smartphones continues to grow, OtterBox will be the leaders in providing durable and high-quality protective solutions in the region.”

For more information, visit www.otterbox.com

About OtterBox:

Built upon fundamentals of hard work, innovation and perseverance, OtterBox is a leader in the production of premier protective solutions for global handheld manufacturers, wireless carriers and distributors.

Incorporating creativity and cutting-edge design into every product, OtterBox creates sleek and durable cases that offer reliable device protection to complement any lifestyle.
OtterBox was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado.

For vendor queries please contact –
OtterBox EMEA
2 Georges Quay
Cork
+353 (0)214910200

For media queries please contact -
Rhona Cashman
Public Relations Coordinator EMEA
rhona.cashman@otterbox.ie
+353 (0)21 4910218
+353(0)87 6978477

The Irish Times reports that Airspeed Telecom has purchased Magnet Networks’ wireless spectrum licence, allowing it to expand its WiMax broadband services. Airspeed already holds a licence for another piece of the spectrum and through it provides broadband to businesses around the country. The deal means Airspeed now owns the 3.5GHz Fixed Wireless Access Local Area spectrum licence for Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. Magnet will maintain its relationship with customers using the frequency, but with Airspeed now providing the service as a wholesaler.

The 69 full-time workers and 50 part-time workers at the plant were told of the decision at a meeting last week.

The company, which makes security electronic devices, was formerly Tyco Electronics.

Its wireless division, including the Cork operation, was taken over by Harris in May.

In a statement, Harris says that following a review carried out locally the decision to phase out operations and close the Little Island plant next June, has been taken.

A redundancy package, which has been described as generous, has been agreed.

The US multi-national said the decision was taken because of existing capabilities elsewhere in the company.

A biotechnology company has announced plans to create 30 new jobs in Cork.

Gilead Sciences says it plans to establish a European Financial Shared Services Centre at its base just outside the city.

The centre will process the company’s finances for its European operation. Gilead Sciences currently employs 125 people at the plant in Carrigtwohill.

Corden PharmaChem is to phase out manufacturing at its plant in Little Island, Cork, from autumn of this year with the loss of 90 jobs.

The company, which produces active pharmaceutical ingredients, will keep its research and development activity in Cork.

In a statement, the company said the decision was reached after a comprehensive review and analysis of its operations showed that the scale of investment needed in the plant meant that the operation in Cork was no longer viable.

The Little Island plant, which employs 97 people, has operated in Cork under different ownership since 1976.

Cork based voice messaging technology company VoiceSage opened new offices in Dun Laoghaire on Wednesday, as part of a EUR7 million investment that will see the creation of 25 new jobs. The positions will be in software engineering, research and development and customer support.

VoiceSage has had a successful couple of years reporting growth of over 300 percent in each of the past two years.

Cork-based IT group Option Wireless, a manufacturer of devices such as USB modems, is to cut 55 staff. The news comes less than six months after Tanaiste Mary Coughlan announced the company was going to recruit 145 extra staff.

Option Wireless vice-president of global operations David Whelan said the decision “has been taken against the backdrop of reducing demand for discretionary products in the global economy, and in no way reflects on the professionalism and dedication of the staff here in Kilbarry”.

US games firm Big Fish will create up to 60 jobs in Cork with the opening of a new operation in the city. An announcement on the jobs is expected on Thursday.

IDA played a its part in attracting the Seattle based company to Ireland.

The jobs will mainly be customer service roles and the company will be located in Mahon.

Nationwide UK has created 20 new jobs in the IFSC -Dublin. A small announcemnt but positive all the same. The company is considered the world’s biggest building society with assets quoted of £200 billion sterling. According to reports there could be more jobs on the way as the building society is said to potentially explore expanding into other areas of banking.

There was however bad news for Cork as 130 jobs will go at Flextronics as a result of Voluntary Redundancy programme. This comes as the company restructures globally. The company announce 120 job cuts last november at its plant in Limerick. Flextronics had a heavy business relationship with Dell so they are feeling the pain from Dell closures in Ireland.