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Ecocem Ireland announces €19m investment and jobs programme
Ecocem Ireland announced last week that its plans to create 61 jobs as part of a new three year, €19m investment programme coinciding with the official opening of its new facility at Dublin Port. The new plant will be used to bag Ecocem’s low carbon cement. The company said that the carbon footprint of its product is more than 50% lower than traditional cement.
Ecocem said that the new plant, which was officially opened last week by Brian Hayes, minister of state at the department of finance, will lead to the creation of 25 direct jobs and 36 indirect jobs with associated Irish suppliers. According to the company, the programme will see investment reach €19m over the next three years, with a €5m investment in machinery and infrastructure already made, and will lead to expanded development of export markets in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France and the UK.
“Ecocem Ireland’s investment programme in its Ringsend and Dublin Port facilities over the next three years will enable us to enhance our manufacturing capacity and expand our exports of green cement to Northern Europe. We are proud to be able to make this investment in green technology focussed on export markets at a difficult time for the construction industry in Ireland," said Conor O'Riain, Ecocem's head of new markets and products.
He added: “The new plant will give Ecocem Ireland the capacity to respond to the Irish government’s upcoming green public procurement (GPP) policy in a meaningful way. Today’s event marks a key step on the road to realising Ireland’s green potential. This is confirmation that the government’s green public procurement policy will benefit the environment, deliver new jobs, expand our green industry and expertise, grow our exports, and is an essential element in meeting Ireland’s obligation of a 20% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020.”
Ecocem also said that its cement underpins 450 jobs in the precast concrete sector in Ireland, where it is an essential requirement in meeting the demand for low-carbon concrete in the UK – an export market valued at €40m to the economy.
Minster of state Brian Hayes said at the opening of the plant: “I am pleased to be able to participate in a very significant day for investment, job creation and export market development in Ireland. Ecocem’s initiative demonstrates Ireland’s leadership in green technology and pioneering environmental solutions. We also welcome the contribution it can make to achieving the government’s green public procurement objectives.”
