This article is from page 27 of the 2005-09-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 27 JPG
EXCITING advances are currently being made in the mobile telecoms sector and Shannon Free Zone firm Tecnomen Ltd., is at the very cutting edge of these innovations.
The Shannon company is engaged in ground- breaking research and development of various prepaid charging and messaging applications that utilise “next generation’ technologies.
It is developing sophisticated and integrated systems solutions for telecom operators and service providers worldwide These solutions enable the provision of complex telecoms serv- ices.
The innovative Finnish multinational finds
Shannon to be a very advantageous global R&D, production and logistics base. “Excellent Skilled labour, tax incentives and business in- frastructure, coupled with a strategic location beside an international airport are among the chief reasons why we have located such a cen- tral part of our global operation at Shannon’’, said Vesa Kemppainen, Chief Operating Of- ficer, Tecnomen Group.
Tecnomen markets its products and services through its own worldwide organisation and through global and local partners such as No- kia, Siemens and Nortel Networks. Founded in 1978, its headquarters are in Espoo, Finland. With customers in over 50 countries and offices in 12, it recorded net sales of €51.5m last year, up almost 14% on 2003.
With 65% of its 125-strong workforce en- gaged in Research & Development, the Shan- non facility is a key R&D Centre for the Cixe)tioy
“We handle all R&D for the Prepaid Charg- ing business, as well as jointly working with the parent company in developing new messag- ing products’, explained Philip Hayes, Director of Charging Solutions with Tecnomen.
“The availability of a highly educated and skilled workforce locally offers the group a vital competitive advantage in terms of inno- vation and product development. Most of our R&D staff are third-level graduates drawn from nearby colleges in Limerick, Cork and Galway”, added Mr Hayes.
Shannon is the sole manufacturing and glo- bal distribution operation within the Tecnomen Group. Product is shipped by air from the air- port to leading telecoms operators throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Central and Latin America.
The company provides customers with com- plete solutions to suit their particular market segments, including software licences, hard- ware, installation and training services and maintenance and support functions.
The fastest growing market for Tecnomen charging products is Latin America where sales grew by over 90% last year alone. One of its main customers in that market is America Movil, the region’s leading mobile operator
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