IDB To Open Boston Office.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 13, 1998--Deputy First Minister for Northern Ireland, Seamus Mallon, announced today that the Industrial Development Board for Northern Ireland (IDB) is to open a representative office in Boston early next year. Mr Mallon announced the development at a news conference in Boston today.

Mr Mallon said it was fitting that Boston has been chosen as the location for IDB's fourth North America office.

"This historic city was the landing point for thousands of emigrants from Ulster in the 18th and 19th century as they fled poverty and oppression in search of jobs and a better way of life. How fitting it is then that today Boston is contributing to the job of creating employment in Northern Ireland."

"Boston's colleges have contributed to the development of management skills in Northern Ireland. Many of our up and coming managers have attended Harvard Business School through a relationship with the University of Ulster's Business School."

"The relationship between Boston College and the University of Ulster has produced pioneering initiatives such as the developing Entrepreneurs in Boston for Ireland. Backed by the International Fund for Ireland, the program helps young managers in small to medium sized enterprises in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland sharpen their skills for the global market place," Mr Mallon said.

"Links such as these, along with the rising overseas investment are helping to change Northern Ireland in many different ways. Not the least of these is that - possible for the first time in decades - our people really can choose to stay at home in Northern Ireland, find a job and raise their families there - instead of having to move away through economic necessity."

"Boston has of course particularly strong links with Dery and its very progressive and ambitious City Council. The strength of this relationship also owes a great deal to the work of my colleague and MP for the area, John Hume."

"Belfast City Council has also been working hard to develop its links with this great city. Currently the Council is helping to organize a trade mission and exhibition here next month. I am confident that this will lead to further business contacts between both cities," Mr Mallon added.

Later at a presentation in Boston's John F. Kennedy Museum and Library, Ted Kelly, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Liberty Mutual Group told businesses and civic leaders why his company chose Northern Ireland as a base from which to provide the Group's world-wide operations with software programming and support.

"Our IT people looked around the world - they looked at India, Israel, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. They did a very objective analysis of the available talent and the available support. We reached the decision that Northern Ireland was by far the best option. The investment has achieved all that we had hoped."

"The main reasons we are going to continue to invest in Northern Ireland are that we have: a great workforce; great support from IDB and other bodies; infrastructure to support a modern technology business and an exceptional work ethic," Mr Kelly added.

Describing Mr Kelly as one of Northern Ireland's most enthusiastic supporters, Adam Ingram, Minister of State for the Economy in Northern Ireland paid tribute to everyone who had been involved in developing the close ties that exist between Boston and Northern Ireland. "Today we are announcing that Boston-based Segue software is to invest almost $1m in a new global technical support center in Belfast. This important investment follows the official opening of Liberty Mutual's software development center earlier this month."

"In addition to recent investments from Liberty Mutual and Segue, our ties with Boston have been strengthened over the years through the arrival of other Massachusetts based companies such as Stream International which has a major technical support call center Londonderry and the Kendall Company, whose Ballymoney plant, has been producing medical devices for over thirty years."

"Our message to Corporate North America is simple... but powerful. It is that the new stable Northern Ireland offers an investor the best deal in Europe - a virtually assured return on investment," Mr Ingram added.