EMC celebrates 25 years at centre of excellence with tribute to workforce

Senior EMC staff were honoured at a civic reception last night at which the Lord Mayor of Cork said the firm was a “cornerstone of Cork’s foreign direct investment community”.

The reception was held to mark the company’s 25th year at Ovens, on the outskirts of Cork City.

“EMC has transitioned from a manufacturing facility with a handful of people 25 years ago to a world-class innovation-led centre of excellence,” said Lord Mayor John Buttimer.

He said that, under the guiding hand of Bob Savage, vice-president and managing director of EMC’s Centre of Excellence, the skilled workforce at Ovens is made up of 44 nationalities, work across 28 business units, and export to more than 140 countries.

Mr Buttimer said EMC is at the leading edge of a transformation in global IT.

“In cloud-computing, big data, and IT security, EMC is helping enterprise and the public sector to enhance efficiency, productivity and agility, cut capital and operating expenditure, and protect and monetise their data,” he said. “EMC is a trend setter in IT, and Cork is at the heart of the global success story.”

David Goulden, EMC president and chief operations officer, said Cork is “a showcase” for EMC bringing customers from all over Europe to see the facilities, and is one of seven centres of excellence worldwide.

Mr Goulden said the passion of the workforce is such that “it feels like a team, the spirit of Cork is absolutely infectious”.

He described Cork as “skill talent” that was needed for such a large innovative corporation.