Recently spotlighted in an Irish Times news feature as possibly ‘the biggest Irish success story you’ve never heard of’, Ei Electronics is continuing it’s growth and innovation traditions from its Shannon Headquarters. With products that have been keeping Irish families safe in their homes for generations, if you look up, the smoke alarm above you on the ceiling was very likely designed, developed and manufactured by Ei in Shannon.
The Company manufactures Home Life Safety Devices for the Connected Home, including smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. It is in many ways an exemplar indigenous Irish manufacturing and exporting success story, which has grown significantly over its 40-year lifespan, now employing 1,100 at its Global HQ in Shannon and 1,250 worldwide. Its Shannon facility is responsible for the manufacture of 13 million devices in total per annum, 95% of which are exported globally, generating a turnover of €400 million.
Growth & Expansion
The Irish sales and support team has continued to grow in recent years. Ireland Country Manager Sean Meally explains; “the fact that we are an Irish Company, headquartered here is a huge advantage. We have a history of serving the Irish market for over 3 decades. We have a trusted brand, with the technical and sales support to back all of that up. Our 30 strong engineering team in Shannon keeps us at the forefront of the latest product innovations and developments.” The new Global HQ building, opened in 2022, has enabled Ei to double its manufacturing capacity, ensuring Shannon will remain the single manufacturing site for the entire Ei Group well into the future. This is good news for the Irish customer base.
Innovation
Ei is an innovation-led company with numerous design patents under its belt – a testament to its commitment to research and development, all of which is conducted in-house by a 30-strong team of engineers. It’s state of the art R&D laboratory serves an experienced team of engineers from a range of disciplines including chemistry & physics, electrical & electronic design, and mechanical & industrial design. The evolution of the Company’s product offering to include solutions for the Connected Home and IOT space has seen experts related to embedded, cloud & App software development, as well as machine learning / AI and data analytics join the team in more recent times.
The most recent addition to its 3000 Series of Mains-powered family of alarms is the Ei3030 combining intelligent Optical, Heat and CO sensors in a single alarm. Meally says, “we use the term’ intelligent simplicity’ when referencing the 3000 Series, meaning it combines intelligent sensors, on a standard Easi-fit base, with AudioLINK data extraction technology, as well as SmartLINK wireless interconnection for whole system monitoring capability”.
Sustainability
The Company is on a firm path to reduce energy, waste, and carbon emissions from both its manufacturing operations and its products in use. EcoVadis, the global trusted ratings Company recently awarded Ei Electronics a silver medal for its latest assessment, placing the Company in the top 15% of globally-rated organisations. EcoVadis provides trusted Sustainability ratings for over 125,000 organisations, representing more than 200 industries spanning 180 countries. It represents another significant milestone on Ei’s Sustainability journey.
Future
With an eye to the future, Ei has broadened its focus to now include solutions for the Connected Home and IOT space. From a sensor perspective this includes air quality sensors for temperature, humidity and Carbon dioxide. A single platform can now streamline processes and provide actionable insights into challenges such as damp and mould, energy efficiency, fuel poverty, indoor air quality, compliance and more. These solutions address the challenges faced by social housing providers, such as local authorities and city and county councils.
Corporate Headquarters
Shannon Industrial Estate, Shannon, Co. Clare, V14 H020
E: info@eielectronics.com
T: +353 (0) 61 471 277
W: www.eielectronics.com
