Ireland’s policy of attracting high-tech companies by providing tax incentives and grants continues to pay off. 3Com Corp said it wanted to set up its European Manufacturing Centre in Ireland and it has finally done so – chief executive Eric Benhamou has just opened a plant near Dublin, so far employing 15 people testing and packaging local net adaptor boards; manufacturing should get under way by summer. By year end, the plant should have some 40 people, 175 eventually. The plant is to be expanded later to include the company’s range of hubs and may produce products aimed specifically at Europe. ISDN is one such area that Benhamouy believes is much more advanced in Europe than the US. It is likely that European users will get access to 3Com’s ISDN technology before their counterparts across the water; in particular 3Com will produce ISDN products similar to those it markets in Japan.
