Irish companies employ nearly as many people in the USA, as American companies employ in Ireland
Ireland is known for punching above its weight, and its contribution to the American economy is no exception. Irish entities have a vast footprint in the USA, with nearly 900 indigenous Irish companies working across all 50 states. These entities employ over 110,000 people in the USA, and have invested billions in the states. As the ninth largest source of FDI to the USA, Ireland, according to the USA Bureau of Economic Analysis, has invested over USD 235.7 billion. Major contributors include Kerry Group, Icon, and Kingspan, but they are only three examples of the incessant Irish appetite to expand operations stateside. Overall, Irish companies covering a broad range of industries including construction, energy, education, environment, medical devices, digital technology, agrifood, and more continue to find the benefits of expanding their foothold in the North American market.
A recent player to tap into the USA market is DCC, an Irish group that is focused on international sales, marketing and support services, and operates in the liquefied petroleum gas, retail and oil, healthcare, and technology sectors.
According to Donal Murphy, CEO of DCC, “Ireland is where DCC started. We have grown from here and are proudly Irish. While the local market is minuscule, Ireland has been an excellent launchpad to other markets with its guaranteed access to the EU – the world’s largest single market. In addition, thanks to Ireland’s excellent business-friendly ecosystem, it is a superb base to grow internationally.”
The Irish company is now looking to expand geographically and Murphy explained, “We now are focusing our attention on looking west to the USA and have big ambitions for this market. Within the last three years, we have gone from having essentially zero exposure to the USA to investing over 20% of our capital in North America. We now employ over 2,300 people on the continent. As a market, it offers vast opportunities for all the sectors we work with, and DCC has committed USD 900 million to North America for far.”
DCC has four divisions working in three sectors: energy, technology, and healthcare. Murphy highlighted the group’s positive impact in the USA, “Our first endeavor in the USA was focused on the nutrition contract manufacturing segment. We wanted to tap into this market as the USA has the largest nutrition market globally. In energy, DCC has quickly become the sixth-largest player in the USA propane market, and we are already operating in 21 states in this regard. We saw an opportunity to help consolidate a very fragmented market. In the technology industry, DCC became the largest musical instrument distributor in the North American market through the acquisition of Canadian audio specialist Jam.”
As a business, DCC drives process efficiency across its divisions to bring better results to operations. After 27 years as a public company with a tremendous track record Murphy underlined, “Driving digitization across the organization, ensuring we are the industry disrupter, and achieving this by creating a culture of innovation where people feel empowered, are all critical to our future success. Nothing is impossible. Drive, innovation, and ambition are essential. We have ambitious growth plans over the next five years. Our purpose as an organization is to enable people and businesses to grow and progress, and we grow and progress alongside our customers. The magic behind DCC’s success is our core value of ensuring safety, integrity, excellence, and partnership across the entire organization. We will continue to grow our footprint in the USA and worldwide.”