Work has begun on site as Shannon’s largest employer, Ei Electronics, turned the sod on the expansion of its existing facility in the Shannon Free Zone.
The new development will comprise a 3 storey, 10,000m2 building adjoining its existing headquarters. It will include additional manufacturing capacity, R&D, and office space, and significantly expand its current production capacity over the coming years.
With origins dating back to 1963 on the existing site, a successful MBO in 1988 led by CEO Mick Guinee, has seen the Irish-owned multinational grow substantially in the intervening years. During this time the original building has been substantially upgraded, with additional land and buildings adjacent to the site acquired in more recent times.
A Centre of Excellence, incorporating state-of-art Conference, Training and Product Demonstration facilities was opened in 2017. The new building will also be the first ‘Near Zero Energy Building’ (NZEB) in Shannon. Completion of the new building is expected in the third quarter of 2021.
The expansion plans underpin a strategy of maintaining 100% of manufacturing in Shannon, in addition to the colocation of other key functions including R&D and Sales and Marketing on a single site.
Exporting to 30 countries worldwide, the Company now employs over 750 people in Shannon, with an additional 100 people in its 5 wholly owned overseas subsidiaries in the UK, Germany, France, the USA and Poland. Ei’s fire detection and carbon monoxide products have been keeping families safe in their homes for generations – both in Ireland and globally. Today, as the company embarks on its next phase of growth the company’s core sensor technology is at the forefront of emerging cloud-based “Connected Home” and IOT developments.