Over the past 21 years, Shannon Chamber has become an intrinsic part of the business community in the greater Shannon area and has expanded both its membership base and its staff complement.
To cater for the needs of this growing membership, which now stands at over 300 companies with an extended reach to their 10,000 employees, and to give its staff of six greater space in which to work, the Chamber has opened a second office in the newly refurbished Shannon Airport House at Shannon Free Zone.
Its former head office in SkyCourt will remain open and be used more extensively by Shannon Chamber Skillnet to provide a range of training programmes to member companies.
Chamber chief executive Helen Downes said that the Chamber has an expansive remit and an exceptionally heavy workload, which required them to look at expanding to larger premises to accommodate its increasing staff numbers.
“Having a presence on the Free Zone also brings us closer to our membership, which is, in the main, from the wide sectoral representation located in the Zone and the wider Shannon area. Retaining our office in SkyCourt means that we can maintain the link with the retail community, the commercial heart of Shannon.
“It’s a new era for the Chamber; a time to plan for bigger and greater in the next decade. Our founding board set the foundations for what we are and where we are today and it’s at a time like this that I get the opportunity, on behalf of the board, to thank our founders, most especially, Michael Guinee, chairman, CEO and founder of Ei Electronics and Paddy Purcell, chairman and founder of Mincon, for their entrepreneurial foresight; both continue to take a great interest in what we do and were very supportive of this expansion,” added Ms Downes.
Welcoming the Chamber to Shannon Airport House, Ray O’Driscoll, managing director, Commercial Properties, Shannon Group plc said: “They arrive at an exciting time in Shannon Commercial Properties’ journey as we regenerate the Free Zone and rebrand our €25 million first phase redevelopment as Gateway West in the Shannon Free Zone. We look forward to working with them to promote all that is great about Shannon for FDI, SMEs and entrepreneurs. Their strategic positioning, as the first point of contact in our newly established Gateway Hub at Shannon Airport House and at the heart of the Free Zone, will serve as a beacon to new and expanding enterprise.”
More business news here
