Irish engineering companies, Kirby Group and Collen, have officially opened offices in Sweden on the back of growth in the Nordic market, with 1,200 people now working for both firms in Sweden.

Both have established their position as experts in the field of data centres, and they report high demand for Irish high-tech construction and engineering services in Sweden and the wider Nordic region. Irish companies have been the lead, design, build or fit-out contractors for all the hyper-scale data centre projects in the region.

Kirby Group’s new office is in the city of Gävle, in a region where most of Kirby’s current projects are located, and includes warehouse and workshop facilities on site.

Group managing director for Sweden Mark Flanagan said: “Sweden has quickly proven to be a great location for us and we’re looking forward to building on our growth and connections there for many years to come.”

Collen’s new HQ is also in Gävle. The company has been operating in Sweden since 2017 and tripled its turnover in the country to €320m last year.

In Association with

Managing director Tommy Drumm added: “At Collen we have vast experience in owner-occupied, hyper-scale data centres that prioritise sustainable energy, low energy consumption and intelligent systems in the design and build process.

“Part of our policy is to partner with as much local expertise as possible, and our clients have seen the value that this brings to our projects. With the opening of our new office in Gävle, we will continue to work with our partners in the supply chain of data centres, and we look forward to building on these local relationships.”

Enterprise Ireland says client company exports to the Nordics increased by 33% in 2020 to €1.1 billion, due largely to continued increased demand for Irish high-tech construction and engineering services.

EI global lead for data centres Karin Angus commented: “Irish construction companies have a strong reputation for delivering large, complex projects internationally and have become central to the supply chain in the Swedish and Nordics data centre industry.

“We are working with the Swedish and Irish construction industry to forge further partnerships and collaborations to deliver on construction needs in the market.”