Pictured on the viewing platform of the CN Tower are (l-r): Gerry Murphy, Director North America, Enterprise Ireland, Paul Savage, CEO, ZolkC, Annemarie Roe, CEO, BaAM Canada, and Minister Bruton.

A total of €8million in new business contracts were announced by Irish companies, and a further five significant new Irish-Canadian partnerships were announced during the trade mission to Canada led in November by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD.

The aim of the trade mission was to cement and build on links and open new doors for increased export business. Exports to Canada by Enterprise Ireland clients rose by 19% to €224m in 2011. Significantly, it is hoped that exports for 2012 will increase by a further 20%.

The 30 Irish companies who participated on the trade mission ranged from high-potential start-ups employing fewer than five people to more established businesses employing over 3,500.

The contracts and partnerships secured during the trade mission include:

• Lincor Solutions, a life sciences company based in Cork, announced over $4 million CAN in new business with hospitals in Quebec and Newfoundland.
• Leading Edge Group (Cork), a business process and consultancy company announced several major contracts worth over $350,000 CAN with new clients including the Ministry of Health in Alberta and Toyota dealerships in Quebec and Ontario.
• FINEOS Corporation, based in Dublin, a provider of claims management software, announced a significant contract with the Manitoba Teachers Society, to manage claims and payments from its employee benefits plan.
• Dundalk-based Multihog Ltd announced a significant deal with Vancouver Airport to supply three Multihog base vehicles and a wide range of attachments. The machines will primarily be used for snow clearance and de-icing around parked aircrafts.
• Waterford company ZolkC announced that they are providing interpretive audio tours for over 20,000 Canadian users at two of the top Canadian tourist sites – CN Tower and Jasper Tramway.
• SAAS Markets (part of Dublin group Sysnet) launched their Software-as-a-Service App Store for Canadian Entrepreneurs. This technology offers more than 1,300 trusted SaaS applications specifically designed to meet the needs of small to medium-sized businesses.
• One Posting, Co. Dublin opened an office in Toronto.
• Drogheda based company, IPL, announced details of a contract with GOV Transit for the provision of their RS Sockets which were used by the organisers of the 2012 Olympic Games to easily and safely install and remove posts and signage along key traffic routes in high congestion areas.

Minister Bruton also met with leading Canadian financial services and telecoms executives at a series of advisory panels for Irish companies as well as meeting with key stakeholders in the local Irish community including the Irish Dairy Board and the Ireland Canada Chamber of Commerce.

Over 220 Irish companies are selling goods and services into Canada spanning a wide range of sectors including telecoms, financial services and consumer retail. To further grow and develop export sales into Canada and North America, 10 Irish companies will set up offices in Canada this year
including:

Lifes2Good
One Posting
Openet
ZolkC
The Now Factory
Ezetop
Vizor
Mapflow
Aurum
Intuition Publishing
Adaptive Mobile