Phase Two Extension of ‘The Mill’ Enterprise Hub Opens in Drogheda
The Minister for Small Business, Pat Breen, officially opened the Phase two extension of The Mill in Drogheda, County Louth, on Thursday. The Enterprise Hub was named The ‘Mill’ in recognition of Drogheda’s proud commercial and industrial heritage dating back to the early 1800’s, but is now staking it’s claim as one of the leading innovation and technology centres in Ireland. The technological needs of local companies will be met by SIRO, who have announced that it has delivered one Gigabit connectivity to The Mill.
The extension of The Mill is a positive declaration of Drogheda’s commercial flair, and of the serious intention to develop entrepreneurship within the region. Over it’s short existence of three years, The Mill has been at the forefront of developing new programmes to support entrepreneurship in the North-East region including the proposed M1Payments Corridor to support Fintech companies, the Illuminate programme for female entrepreneurs, the Drogheda Young Innovators to support innovations amongst second level students, and the FoodTech initiative to develop companies providing IT and professional services to the Agri-Food industries.
Breen commended The Mills services and activity to date, saying: “The facilities here are exemplary, and the fact that it’s almost fully occupied is a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit in the region. A vibrant small businesses sector is vital to successful economic sustainability, and I can see that The Mill is successfully addressing the practical, training, and mentoring needs of it’s ‘Millers'”.
Already home to over twenty businesses, The Mill provides a base for seventy full-time employees from sole traders to small FDIs establishing EU bases. The companies operate in myriad business sectors, and are availing of modern office facilities, state of the art technology, hot-desks, and a number of networking and training opportunities.
Co-Chair of The Mill Enterprise Centre, Alan Costello, said: “This opening is a vindication of an idea that circulated for a number of years, and would not have been possible without the support of funders such as CRH, State Street, Coca-Cola International Services, Enterprise Ireland, Louth County Council, REDZ funding, and a plethora of other supporters. This support is also evident in our corporate partnerships that offer support for our various programmes. Drogheda and it’s environs has always had a great community spirit and this is evident with the financial support we received from SMEs and locally-based Multinationals”. Private sector funding has proven to be vital to the project with over €350,000 coming from private donations and local companies.
The Mill has recalled Drogheda’s proud commercial tradition by naming each office suite after a local 19th or 20th century enterprise, for example Casey’s Brewery, The Linen Hall, and Preston Distillery.
