New and exciting phase of industrial activity began

US-OWNED COMPANY ECCO LTD BEGAN PRODUCTION OF ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS AT ARD EASMUINN July 1966

A new and exciting phase in the industrial development of Dundalk took place in July, 1966 when ECCO Ltd., started production of electronic components for the American owned company.

The firm had been recruiting extensively in the previous months, and predicted that 400 would be employed by the end of the year, with that figure would steadily increase over the subsequent months to an estimated figure of 1,000 within a few years.

ECCO Ltd., which was a subsidiary of the giant American firm, GeneralElectric Company of the USA., had acquired the former GEC plant in Ard Easmuinn the previous May.

The plant built at a cost of £750,000 mostly with taxpayers money, had housed an electrical appliance production line forGEC, the British controlled company who had also extensive production facilities in Dunleer.

The closure was regarded as a massive blow to the town, but when ECCO Ltd., came on board with the prospect of so many jobs there was renewed optimism about the town’s industrial future since it represented the first venture into the computer age which was predicted to sweep the world.

The story of the new Dundalk undertaking was given by the President and Managing Director of the firm, Theodore E. Jamro, an American who had been associated with the the business since the 1940’s.

The new MD intended to move his family to Dundalk and said that ECCO had paid one million dollars for the Ard Easmuinn factory and were spending a further £200,000 on adapting the plant for their use.

Much of that work would involve ensuring that the production area was clean as cleanliness was an essential pre-requisite of the operation.

About 12 American experts would be moving to Dundalk with their families to help establish the operation, but it was the policy of the firm to have a joint Irish-American management team in place.

The new MD revealed that they had been inundated with applications for work, and stressed that thy would be looking for a high percentage of women operatives. The ratio of females to men working in the plant would be 65 females to 35 males.

Mr. Jamro said that the firm would b producing electronic components extensively used in radios, transistors, TV sets, computers, and other electronic equipment.

There would be no finished article as the entire output would be components which would be exported to America or Europe.

Each employee would be responsible for their own individual unit, and the parts used in production were so tiny that a microscope would have to be used.