UB INSIDER: WHY UTAH COMPANIES ARE FINDING A SECOND HOME IN IRELAND.

• Author: Christensen, Lisa
• Position: Utah Business Insider: PODCAST SERIES

Silicon Slopes -- Ireland and Utah are, on the surface, practically opposites. But almost a dozen of Utah's fastest-growing companies in the tech and medical manufacturing industries have found Ireland to be the perfect fit for a European headquarters.

"The No. 1 reason companies are now setting up in Ireland is to find an open, business-friendly environment where they can get the right talent. It's very much a talent-driven decision: can you find the people that speak the languages, that are tech-savvy, that are educated, that can sell and support your European customers and can help build your European business," said Dierdre Moran, vice president of emerging technologies, U.S. West Coast, for IDA Ireland. "A U.S. company can, obviously, get to a certain scale being based in the U.S., but as they grow to scale out In Europe, you need to be closer to those customers. There are different regulations across Europe, there's different languages, there's different cultural nuances. You can deal with those to a certain extent, but it's useful to be closer to them, even from a time-zone perspective. It's practical."

Ireland was one of the first countries to make a conscious effort to attract foreign countries. IDA Ireland, the country's government agency in charge of foreign direct investment, was originally founded in the 1940s, and has evolved along with the world and the markets. Ireland Is the only English-speaking company in the Eurozone, and has a low corporate tax rate and gives companies a tax break of a quarter of their qualifying investments in the country, said Moran.

Moran said she and her colleagues at the agency contact growing companies, introduce them to the business-friendly policies that make Ireland a good fit for many businesses, and help them with associated permits and plans along the way, including finding property for a building, helping obtain work permits and fast-tracking immigration, all at no cost to the companies. The country has no cap on the equivalent of HB1 visas to let In skilled, educated workers, she said, further helping to ensure a qualified workforce will be at the ready for companies who need them.

"We recognize we're an island of only 4.5 million people, so we have very, very open borders for getting talent in, just because we want to help our companies grow," she said...