Sector Strengths

The Waterford City Region is one of the most vibrant digital clusters in Ireland and the sector continues to build on its tech history, driving employment and innovation in the region. The sector supports over 6,000 employees and benefits from a talent pool of over 1,500 students in higher education. A new 12,800sqm Computing and Engineering building to be built on the SETU campus will allow the region to further consolidate its position as a leader in High-Tech Manufacturing and the Digital Economy.

The ICT ecosystem in the Waterford City Region is populated with a complete support network including the Walton Institute for Information and Communication System Science (formerly TSSG) research Centre of Excellence at SETU, Crystal Valley Tech cluster, Suir Capital Ventures, NDRC and ArcLabs. There are now over 120 ICT companies in the region with ongoing global success including Nearform, developers of the largest global COVID19 Tracker app.

“Waterford, and Tramore in particular, is in our DNA. There’s a really good tech community here, and some great talent with incredible graduates coming out of SETU, so choosing Waterford as our HQ has given us a base to build out our business with the ability to work and hire internationally.”

Cian Ó’ Maidín

Founder & CEO NearForm

Manufacturing, Engineering and Industrial technologies have long since been a cornerstone of the Waterford City regional economy with over 31,000 employees and has historically ensured vibrancy and independence. Waterford City region has a deep pool of multi-disciplinary and highly skilled workforce with almost 20,000 in this sector educated to tertiary level.

Additionally, a strong pipeline of over 3,000 students in a region which embraces innovation in product development, is supported by Ireland’s leading SETU Centre of Excellence at South-Eastern Applied Materials (SEAM), RIKON and by a industry led cluster group – Engineering the South East.

“When starting Schivo Medical in 2007 I searched Ireland for a location that had the skillset and lifestyle factors that would enable my business to be successful. Waterford has provided everything I need. Schivo Medical now employs over 200 people in Waterford, with a further 130 in New York following a recent acquisition.

The success of Schivo has enabled me to establish a separate business, workLAB.ie, which is a great workspace for anyone wishing to locate their business in Waterford City”.

Seamus Kilgannon

Founder & CEO
Schivo Medical & WorkLAB

The Waterford City region has a strong reputation in banking, corporate finance, insurance, contact centre, shared services and has strong activity in the future growth of Fintech and the global payments sector. The sector is experiencing rapid growth with over 6,000 employees and the regions knowledge intensive businesses underpin and enable growth within the sector, offering vital services to businesses choosing to locate in Waterford.
With a strong talent pool of over 5,200 students gaining third level qualifications and extensive research collaboration between SETU and the industry cluster, there is significant opportunity for future growth.

“Our business established its HQ in Waterford in 2011 with an ambition to deliver excellence in service delivery. For over 10 years our employees have played a critical and integral role in helping us to attain that position.  Today, as part of a global Infosys team who are leaders in consulting and technology our HQ talent, capability and experience leads the way in next-generation services”.

Heather Reynolds

Senior Director

Infosys BPM

The Waterford City region supports over 17,000 employees in pharmaceutical and medical device companies. The success of the Life Sciences sector in the Waterford City Region can be attributed in part to the enabling support infrastructure in place through IDA utility-rich strategic sites and the growth in specialist support and consultancy services, clean room providers, recruitment agencies and tailored educational programmes. Waterford City Region has cutting-edge facilities including the SETU Centre of Excellence, the Pharmaceutical and Molecular Biotechnology Research Centre (PMBRC) which is a catalyst for research and innovation for the Life Sciences sector in the region.

“As General Manager at TEVA Pharmaceuticals Ireland, I believe that Waterford as the largest urban area in the South East region, is well placed to deliver on the fantastic potential which exists here. Waterford has excellent infrastructure which acts as a significant support to industry with access to a skilled talent pool and an excellent quality of life.”

Andy Crowley

General Manager

TEVA Pharmaceuticals