Big 15 Galway employers top €7 billion in exports

Multinational companies are the driving force behind the Galway economy, with almost €7.4 billion worth of exports last year from 15 top locally-based companies.

The performance of the companies in Galway – which employ more than 11,000 people in the city and county – has been described as “exceptional” by the IDA.

A new report of the country’s Top 250 exporters in 2013 from the Irish Exporters Association has found that the ‘Life Sciences’ sector (which includes pharmaceuticals and medical devices) continues to be a core contributor to the economy in Galway and the entire country.

The biggest exporter in Galway – and the eleventh biggest in the country – is Boston Scientific in Ballybrit, which employs around 3,000 and had exports valued at almost €3.6 billion.

The company – which is celebrating 20 years in Galway – exports around ten million medical devices each year, including stents, balloons, catheters and pacemakers.

It is just behind Apple in Cork, which had exports valued at €4 billion and employs 3,500 people.

Also on the Galway list is Medtronic in the Parkmore Business Park with exports valued at almost €1.2 billion, and employing nearly 1,900 people.

See full list in this week’s Connacht Tribune.