Firms to set up in Czech Republic

THREE Irish companies are set to expand in the Czech Republic. Westmeath-based Mergon International will invest €3 million in a new plant in Brno, the country’s second largest city, that will employ 80 people.

The company makes car components and parts for business machines. Its new Czech operation will also make components for power tools.

Managing director Patrick Beirne said it was important to have a central European location to supply its customer base on the continent.

The company chose Brno for the region’s strong background in mechanical engineering.

Realtime Technologies, a Dublin company that provides inspection and testing services to electronics manufacturers, will employ 30 people in a new facility 50 miles from Prague. The facility will complement existing plants in Clonshaugh in north Dublin and in California.

Realtime managing director Paddy White said the new operation would help the company penetrate growing markets in central and eastern Europe.

“We put a substantial amount of research into selecting the right location and, in all aspects of this research, the Czech Republic performed positively and scored highly as a potential location,” he said.

M&M Developments, a property development company headed by John Moriarty, also announced plans to build a series of manufacturing facilities in the Czech Republic. The company is about to conclude deals with local authorities in four Czech cities that will result in new business parks aimed at manufacturing companies looking to locate in central Europe.