Waterford spreads ‘open for business’ message in US

THE mayor of Waterford city has returned from a 10-day trade mission to the US with the aim of forcefully making the point the city was “open for business”.

Cllr Mary Roche, an Independent member of Waterford City Council, led a 10-day whistle-stop tour of five cities headquartered with companies employing 2,400 people in Waterford.

The companies concerned provide for “a positive economic injection into the local economy of more than €120 million a year,” said a council spokesman.

The US delegation included Waterford city manager Michael Walsh, local businessman Noel Frisby and director of economic development at Waterford City Council, Lar Power, along with the economic development officer, Brid Kirby.

The delegation visited the headquarters of Bausch and Lomb, Sun Life Financial, Genzyme, Hasbro and KPS Capital Partners, the parent company of Waterford Crystal.

Ms Roche yesterday said: “I was anxious to begin the work of actively selling and unashamedly promoting Waterford as a business, investment and tourism destination in a very pro-active and tangible way.

“I believe that we have certainly delivered and that over time there will be real and actual benefits from this trip,” she said.

Ms Roche, the second woman to hold the position of mayor of Waterford in over 800 years, is currently proposing the establishment of a permanent City Council office to promote business and international links.

The mayor is also considering seeking private funding to drive new industry, business and tourism investment in Waterford.

“I know that we have moved Waterford up the value chain in terms of the awareness of the city in the places we visited,” added Cllr Roche.

The mayor’s delegation joined a number of representatives of Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) and attended a ceremony where six-times Mayor of Chicago, Richard M Daley, was conferred with an honorary fellowship. Cllr Roche also presented Mayor Daley with a family tree outlining his close links with Waterford City, where he has numerous cousins.

During the US mission, several meetings to develop further links between WIT and St John Fischer College, Rochester Institute of Technology, Suffolk University and the University of Massachusetts were also held.

The delegation also met IDA and Tourism Ireland North America representatives while exploratory talks were held with the American Ireland Fund.