Emerald Gold

In March, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) released preliminary data for 2005 that pointed to a significant rise in the state’s manufactured exports—$13.8 billion, an increase of 17 percent over 2004. And the country that continues to hold on to the number-two spot overall in state exports, second only to Canada, is Ireland.

Surprised? You’re probably not alone. According to Lisa Curtin, founder and president of the Minnesota Chapter of the Ireland Chamber of Commerce in the United States (ICCUSA–MN), most people are surprised when they learn that Minnesota companies sold almost $1.4 billion worth of goods to Ireland in 2005.

Admittedly, according to DEED, the majority of those exports were medical-device components that were finished on the Emerald Isle (and often sold back to the United States). Still, the numbers do suggest that Ireland has become important to the Minnesota economy. What’s more, there are even more opportunities for state firms to do business there, as Curtin is happy to discuss.

Curtin launched the Minnesota branch of the Ireland Chamber in Minnesota in February 2004. The impetus for the local chapter had its roots a little less than a year earlier, when she started a business development group, Irish American Equity Group, to help Irish companies expand in the United States. Not readily finding contacts and sources for business networking, Curtin started hunting for Irish business groups and found the Ireland Chamber of Commerce in the United States, which began in New York in 1988.

Unlike other international chamber and business-development groups in Minnesota whose mission focuses primarily on cultural programs, the Ireland Chamber is dedicated to business. Cur-tin also believes that ICCUSA is distinct from local and national government agencies because it concentrates on helping members develop business relationships, rather than on trade regulations.

ICCUSA’s local chapter currently has just 10 members. Curtin’s goal is to add another 40 over the next year. There are good reasons to bet she’ll meet that target.

For one thing, there’s already an exceptionally strong relationship between Ireland and Minnesota businesses, particularly those in the medical-device industry. Med-tech companies Medtronic and Guidant have significant operations in Ireland, as do Minnesota firms 3M, ADC Tele-communications, and Delta Dental, among others.

But for smaller state companies, perhaps the most promising opportunities in Ireland involve digital content. Curtin, who recently started a digital-content management company in Ireland called Digital Equity, notes that since 2002, the Irish government has sought to become a world capital of digital media. According to a 2002 report commissioned by the Republic of Ireland, many developments driving digital content, such as the mass market roll-out of broadband networks and interactive online services, are just beginning. The report asserted that by building on existing strengths and expertise, Ireland can establish a significant presence in several high-value digital-content sectors. Specific target areas include digital libraries, e-learning, gaming and business and consumer wireless services. The Irish government also is making investments in education and adding tax credits for research and development to help fuel this growth. For Minnesota firms, this means that Ireland can provide technology partners.

Curtin acknowledges that Ireland is, in itself, a small market—but it does offer Minnesota companies a stepping stone to the European Union. “In addition to Ireland being an English-speaking country, Americans are genuinely liked in Ireland,” Curtin says, “which is not necessarily the case in other countries that are part of the European Union.”