Éire Composites Teo was established in 2006 following the merger of four separate companies and it specialises in the design, manufacture and testing of advanced lightweight composite products. Aerospace customers include Bombardier Aerospace (Belfast), Airbus (UK and France), Eurocopter (Germany), the European Space Agency and several Tier 1 aerospace suppliers.

When a politician uses the term "milestone," it may be advisable to keep the salt cellar within reach. The €8 billion + programme to make Ireland a "world-class knowledge economy" within four years, is still funded and today Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan T.D has announced details of the initial seven industry groups to form research initiatives under the Competence Centres programme, which is focused on research with a direct impact on industry. €7 million in public funds is being allocated according to Coughlan.

The centres are said to be a joint initiative of Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland and a "key element of Government plans to build a smarter, greener economy. Government funding is being provided of up to €1 million per initiative for this initial research phase.

The seven research initiatives cover ICT, involving nanotechnology, microelectronics and IT innovation; manufacturing using composite materials, manufacturing process technologies and energy efficiency in factories; and new technologies in bio-energy and bio-refining.

64 companies  - -  both foreign-owned and local companies - - were involved in the planning for these Competence Centres including multinationals like Medtronic, Intel, Xilinx, Seagate, Analog Devices Ltd, De Puy and Bombardier Aerospace and Irish companies such as
Creganna, AER Ltd, Éire Composites Teo, Proxy Biomedical, S3, Aerogen, and Redmere.

Coughlan said it is expected that when fully operational, a further 200 companies in Ireland will be directly associated with the Competence Centres.

“Creating employment through knowledge and innovation in our existing companies is a key Government priority as outlined in our strategy ‘Building Ireland’s Smart Economy’. The Competence Centre initiatives will use collaborative research to address the challenges of making Irish manufacturing more competitive, and exploit the opportunities in the emerging energy, green technologies and IT sectors,” she said.