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One hundred hi-tech engineering jobs are to be created by Irish electronics design company Silicon & Software Systems (S3) in a new IEP2 million facility in Cork.
The Cork Design Centre already employs 30 people and, according to the company, the new expansion will establish the location as an S3 Centre of Excellence.
The development comes as the Irish Independant reports that the Dublin technology company is considering launching its IPO.
Late last year ENN reported that S3, which is 90 percent owned by Philips and 10 percent by Maurice Whelan, also planned expansion in Galway with a subsequent increase in employment.
Last July it announced an IEP15.5 million expansion of its Leopardstown, Dublin headquarters where it employs 150.
S3 was founded in Dublin in 1986 and now employs almost 400 people in six design centres in Ireland, Poland and the Czech Republic. In the last three years the company has more than doubled its revenues.
The Cork centre specialises in the design of digital consumer electronics such as advanced digital set top boxes and related services. S3 has been designing Digital Set Top Boxes since 1994 and has an established reputation in the area.
Technology developed in the Cork Centre will contribute significantly to the "Networked Home" of the future, according to the company. This technology will enable users to download and view movies directly from the cable network without the use of video tapes, to print a customised magazine that includes only the articles of interest and other innovative services. All of this is part of S3's "Home Gateway" which will form a key part of the "Networked Home" of the future, according to S3.
S3 has appointed James Blair as the new design centre manager for Cork. Originally from Canada, he moved to Cork five years ago and said the investment in a new state-of-the-art design facility will enable the company to "respond to the explosive growth in demand for digital consumer design expertise."
Chief executive officer John O'Brien said the company had identified Cork as an ideal location in which to establish a design centre saying there was a high concentration of technology professionals in the area and excellent graduates coming from third level institutions.
Opening the new facility, Tanaiste, Mary Harney said companies such as S3 illustrate how Ireland's capabilities and international success play a very important role in shaping global industry developments.
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