Daily Digest 25 September

25-09-2008

by Deirdre McArdle

Tyco to lay-off 320 staff | Zamano revenue boosted by acquisitions

Cork-based company Tyco Sensormatic has confirmed it is to lay off 320 people over the next 12 months as it closes its manufacturing unit in Bishopstown, Co Cork. Prior to a meeting with management Thursday morning, there had been talk of 200 or so redundancies, but staff at the meeting heard that 320 jobs were going to be lost over the next 12 months, with manufacturing being moved to a lower-cost economy. Tyco said it would only be retaining 20 staff at its Irish shared services centre.

Zamano, a Dublin-based mobile services group, has posted pre-tax profits of EUR637,000 for the six months to the end of June. This is down from the EUR1.4 million profit reported in the same period last year. Zamano cited negative currency movement and the cost of its acquisitions of Eirborne Text Promotions and Red Circle Technologies as the main reasons for the profit drop. However, on the flip side, Zamano said the acquisitions added to its revenue figure, which jumped 145 percent from EUR9.7 million last year to EUR23.7 million at the end of June.

Business communications provider Colt Telecom has announced it is partnering with Hibernia Technology. The deal will see the pair provide end-to-end IT and infrastructure solutions, including network monitoring, to businesses. "Outsourcing is a widely adopted strategy when it comes to Irish organisations managing their IT infrastructure. Our expectation is that this trend will continue into 2009 and beyond. Drivers such as better IT support, speedy access to specialised skills and the ability to focus on core competencies are key concerns for businesses," said Brian Larkin, general manager of Hibernia Technology Group.

The majority of companies sending out email marketing material are failing to comply with legal and data protection requirements. That's according to a survey conducted by multi-channel marketing provider CustomerMinds.com, which revealed that 82 percent of senders are failing to include their registered company number; 79 percent are failing to include a company telephone number in all email messages and 62 percent are failing to include their company's physical street address. All of these are now required by the new Companies Act Regulations, which came into effect on 1 April 2007. "Right now most of our marketers run the twin risks of legal action and being blacklisted by ISPs. They are also making basic mistakes, such as failing to maximise their return from e-mail – and risk annoying their audiences," said Mike McMahon, managing director of CustomerMinds.com.

The European Recycling Platform (ERP) comes into operation in Ireland on 26 September. Ireland is one of the first four countries in Europe to implement the new directive, along with Spain, Finland and Austria. Under the directive, anyone can leave their old batteries for recycling, free of charge, at over 3,500 ERP designated collection points in Ireland, including retail outlets selling equivalent batteries or other authorised collection points. Retail outlets that sell batteries will be required to take waste batteries, even if the person depositing the waste batteries doesn’t purchase a new battery. Smaller retailers and schools will be provided with a front-of-shop collection box, while civic amenity sites and larger retailers will be provided with barrels to allow for collection. The European Recycling Platform (ERP) was set up in December 2002 by Braun, Electrolux, HP and Sony in response to the introduction of the European Union's Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) Directive. For more information on ERP, visit www.erp-recycling.org.

Meanwhile, Sony Ericsson has announced it plans to do its bit for the environment. The mobile manufacturer has devised the 'GreenHeart' concept for a range of future phones. Phones made according to this concept will include features such as bio-plastic housings, recycled plastic keypads, HTML based e-manuals, a game-style educational application called 'Ecomate' and environmentally-conscious packaging. The mobile maker has also launched an environmental warranty, which means that when any Sony Ericsson product is taken to a designated collection point, Sony Ericsson will recycle the product in an environmentally sound way. The warranty is valid globally regardless of where the product was originally purchased.