Business looks to German suppliers

IRISH companies have been queuing up at the door of the German-Irish Chamber of Commerce to contact German companies to replace British suppliers charging sterling.

The executive director of the German-Irish Chamber of Industry and Commerce Ralf Lissek said, of the 117 countries where there are German chambers of commerce, Irish business people have been the most pro-active in seeking assistance in trying to reduce costs by eliminating foreign exchange fluctuation exposure. Mr Lissek said Irish companies who saw material costs rising because of the strength of sterling have been very successful in reducing costs sourcing material from German companies in the euro area.

“There has been nothing like this anywhere else in the world,” he said.

Yesterday the Cork chapter of the chamber opened for business. Director Franz Müller said the chamber provided a two-way street of business opportunities with help available to Irish companies who want to export to Germany.

Mr Müller’s company Diessell Metering Systems employs 11 people in Carrightwohill.

The chamber has 350 members in Ireland working in both Irish and German companies. There are 240 German companies employing at least 13,500 people in Ireland.

Meanwhile, at the American Chamber of Commerce Southern Region meeting, chief executive Joanne Richardson said: “Ireland needs to continue to redefine its competitiveness and re-evaluate how we market Ireland's attractiveness as a location for R&D, shared services, supply chain management and sales and marketing activities. These are the growth areas which will allow Irish multinational companies move up the value chain within the global corporation and secure investment for Ireland.”