SL Controls is a company that has deep roots in Sligo. This is where the company was first founded, it’s where we employed our first staff, and it’s the location of our head office.
While Sligo remains crucial to our business operations, we now also have other locations around Ireland that are of equal importance. Our Irish offices now include:
- Sligo
- Limerick
- Galway
- Maynooth/Dublin
If you are in either the MedTech or pharmaceutical sectors in Ireland, you will recognise each of these locations as being key regional hubs.
In Sligo, Limerick, Galway, and Maynooth/Dublin, there are both indigenous Irish and internationally-based manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and/or medical devices. In addition, each of the locations also has a strong ecosystem of suppliers, companies providing a range of support services, and educational institutions.
Ireland isn’t a large country, though. Plus, new technologies increasingly enable efficient remote collaborative working without the need to travel at all. Why, then, did SL Controls decide to invest so heavily in Ireland’s regions?
Investing in MedTech and Pharmaceutical Regional Hubs
We identified two major benefits for investing in the main MedTech and pharmaceutical regional hubs in Ireland:
- Benefits to our team, many of which also indirectly benefit our clients
- Direct benefits to our clients
We explored other options too, of course, including increasing the numbers of people who work remotely. The above benefits were too compelling to ignore, however.
Plus, it’s working extremely well now the regional offices are open and established.
Benefits to Our Team
Improving work-life balance is a key priority for most of the Irish workforce. One crucial aspect of achieving the right balance is to bring business travel, daily commutes, and nights spent away from home to a minimum.
Before we opened our regional offices, some of our team had to commute longer distances than they wanted to. In addition, to fulfil client contracts, our engineers had to spend multiple days in the field, staying in hotels and spending significant hours driving.
Enabling members of our team to live and work closer to our key clients has been an important driver of the recent success we have had at SL Controls.
This is a better model than large-scale remote working arrangements too, as our people feel more of a connection to the company as a whole, plus there is a strong sense of team in each of our locations.
As a result, individuals get the support they need, our projects run more efficiently, and it’s easier to share knowledge – something which is crucial in our industry.
Benefits to Industry
Our clients also benefit directly from the fact we have offices in key MedTech and pharmaceutical regional hubs in Ireland. Those benefits include:
- Improved relationships with key members of our team
- Excellent staff retention rates at SL Controls which provides consistency and familiarity
- Projects run more efficiently as teams spend more time working together and less time travelling
- We can respond faster to client requests
- It’s easier to get essential expertise on-site when you need it
The Future
Our decision to invest in Ireland’s regions benefits SL Controls, our team, and our clients. We also strive to ensure it benefits the local communities where our offices are located too. We actively take part in the business community in our regional locations, we support local causes, and provide other support any way we can.
Our future at SL Controls is in Ireland’s regions, so our investment in those regions continues.
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