Last month, Ei Electronics welcomed Taoiseach Micheál Martin to officially open its state-of-the-art new group headquarters on its existing campus. Plans to hire 200 additional staff members over the coming year at the Shannon facility were also revealed.
The new building comprises a 10,000m² facility and includes significant additional manufacturing capacity, research and development and office space. The expansion underpins a strategy of maintaining 100% of manufacturing in Shannon, in addition to the co-location of other key functions on a single site.
The new development consists of a 3-storey building adjoining its existing headquarters.
With a turnover in 2021 of approximately €320m, and 1,100 employees worldwide, Ei Electronics commands a leadership position globally as a manufacturer of residential fire and gas detection products.
The company is 100% Irish-owned and has been operating for over 55 years. Over 30 years ago it became a fully-fledged Irish company after a management buy-out from General Electric in 1988.
Official opening
Speaking at the opening of the Ei Electronics campus in Shannon on Friday, 4 March, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “I am pleased to be here to witness first-hand the continued expansion of Ei Electronics, one of Ireland’s largest and most successful manufacturing and electronic companies. For over five decades the company has been a remarkable contribution to Shannon and the mid-west region and its ambitious plans for future growth and job creation are very welcome.”
An Taoiseach continued: “Ei Electronics is an outstanding Irish-owned company creating solutions with a global reach and I commend Michael and his team on today’s milestone announcement.”
CEO of Ei Electronics, Michael Guinee added: “We are delighted to welcome An Taoiseach for what is another milestone in Ei’s long history. Today, we embark on our next phase of growth on the site in Shannon which we have occupied for over 55 years. This building is a testament to the dedication of very many people over several decades, built on a strong culture of loyalty, respect, commitment and long service.”
The company’s Irish sales operation has grown steadily in recent years, occupying a leadership position and the supplier of choice for installers and wholesalers alike.
Ireland Country Manager, Tom Meehan explained: “The new state-of-the-art facility means a bright future for our loyal Irish customer base. The additional manufacturing capacity will position our Irish sales and support team to offer Irish customers best-in-class support and service into the future.
In line with our Sustainability strategy, the building is also one of the first Near Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) in Shannon.”
Global position
Ei ranks as one of Ireland’s largest indigenous manufacturing and exporting electronics companies. It occupies a 32,000m² campus in Shannon, where all business functions are headquartered, R&D, Sales and Marketing, Manufacturing, Customer Service and Finance and Admin.
With customers in over 30 countries worldwide, Ei employs an additional 100 people in its five wholly owned overseas subsidiaries in the UK, Germany, France, the USA and Poland, bringing the total headcount to over 1,100. Over 90% of turnover is accounted for by exports, the primary overseas markets today being the UK, Germany, USA, Netherlands and Australia.
Company growth
January 2020 saw the opening of its new UK headquarters in Oswestry, Shropshire. This also coincided with the 30th anniversary of Ei’s UK subsidiary Aico. This came on the back of an expansion of Ei’s German facility in 2019.
July 2020 marked the acquisition of Bristol-based company HomeLINK to further expand Ei’s footprint in the Connected Home and IOT arena. A suite of Environmental Sensor solutions developed jointly by Ei and HomeLINK were brought to market in the middle of 2021.
Over the years, Ei has added a range of value-added monitoring, management and data extraction software tools to its product suite to enable interconnectivity between devices and local and remote control of complete installations.
The most recent Gateway and Remote Inspection product launches mark the transition to the cloud-based management of systems, further increasing ease of management and compliance, and reducing overall cost of ownership.
