PepsiCo sees bright future in Ireland

ONE of the world’s largest corporations said it will increase its presence substantially in Ireland over the coming years.

General manager at PepsiCo Ireland, Paul Campbell, said the company is performing strongly here and it has a bright future.

Just over two years ago PepsiCo moved operations from New York to Cork.

“This was not a difficult decision to make but it was difficult to implement,” said Mr Campbell.

He said Ireland offers a competitive business environment and the company continues to perform strongly here. Mr Campbell was speaking at the Irish Examiner-sponsored Cork Chamber business breakfast briefing yesterday.

Cork Chamber president Ger O’Mahoney said PepsiCo is a “wonderful success story for Ireland” adding that the county is “very proud” of the company.

PepsiCo produces snacks, foods and beverages and employs 185,000 worldwide.

PepsiCo Ireland was established in 1974 as a concentrate manufacturing facility servicing the European marketplace with 30 employees. It now employs over 500 in Ireland and supplies over 140 countries.

In 2006, PepsiCo announced the creation of 50 jobs through a €10 million investment in Cork.

The jobs, were created at a research and development centre, located next to one of its plants at Little Island.

Since 2002, PepsiCo has invested over €100m in its Cork operations.