Wexford attracts jobs and talent as Hatch Lab opens its doors.
The first in a range of ambitious projects being developed by Wexford County Council to attract investment and jobs to Wexford became reality on Friday afternoon last (8 June) when Cathaoirleach John Hegarty officially opened the 5000 sq ft Hatch Lab in Gorey, County Wexford.
The Hatch Lab is located on the M11 Business Campus in Gorey, County Wexford, less than 1km from the M11 Motorway and offers incubation and co-working facilities for fledgling micro-enterprises within the innovation and technology sector. The state-of-the-art facilities have been modelled on similar world-class innovation centres both in Ireland and abroad, with the result that clients and companies from across the south-east region who choose to locate in the Hatch Lab can enjoy services such as hot-desks, meeting space, joint administrative services and high-speed broadband within a unique co-working and start-up environment.
The building has access to up to 1GB of speed and boasts an impressive array of essential facilities, including meeting rooms, conference room, coffee dock and canteen, shared printing services, skype booths, relaxations areas and private lockers. Users of the Hatch Lab can choose from a variety of charges, with Hot Desking available from €15 per day and Private Desk from €190 a month.
This world-class facility has been developed in a unique tri-party arrangement, with private investment by Redmond Brothers of Gorey, support from Bank of Ireland through a €1m partnership agreement over a 5-year period to provide people, events and marketing, while a lease by Wexford County Council of a portion of the building space provides assurance of financial return to the investors during the early years of the project.
Enniscorthy Enterprise and Technology Centre supplies the Hatch Lab with administration and operation services, while other supporting agencies include Wexford Local Enterprise Office, Enterprise Ireland, IDA, South East Business Innovation Centre, National Digital Research Centre, Gorey Chamber of Commerce and Guinness Enterprise Centre.
Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council, Councillor John Hegarty performed the opening ceremony. “We’re delighted to say that the Hatch Lab is enjoying considerable success and has already hosted a number of exciting companies such as Abodoo.com – now a HPSU with Enterprise Ireland, WliderWander.com, Schedulie.com, Detour Guide, Infinite Zero and VoiNext” said Councillor Hegarty.
“The Hatch Lab is one of a number of property solutions investments planned by Wexford County Council for each of our main towns”, said Tom Enright, Chief Executive of Wexford County Council. He added “Just like our other property solutions, the Hatch Lab has been designed and constructed to meet the very high standards of today’s business investor. We fully expect that these new high-quality commercial office and manufacturing facilities, together with County Wexford’s other attractions of a skilled and talented workforce, affordable housing, enviable amenities, excellent motorway access and high quality of life, will encourage businesses to strongly consider Wexford as a viable and attractive option, when seeking a location for new investment or expansion of existing operations.”
Also present at yesterday’s official opening was JJ Keyes, County Manager Bank of Ireland. “We are delighted to partner with Wexford County Council and Redmond Brothers in helping to provide such an ambitious business facility here in North Wexford” said Mr. Keyes. “Bank of Ireland’s investment of dedicated staff, supported by a targeted marketing and promotion plan, amounts to almost €1 million over a 5 year period, and it has allowed the Hatch Lab to attract clients and be fully functional right from Day 1”.
The Hatch Lab is the first building in Wexford County Council’s ambitious property solutions development programme to come to fruition and is based in the first of three 36,000 sq ft buildings being developed by Redmond Construction in the brand new M11 Business Campus in Gorey town.
In response to strong interest, plans are being developed to extend the space by another 5,000 sq feet to include private office space for small teams of 4-6 people.
Pictured above at the official opening of the Hatch Lab were Tom Enright (Chief Executive, Wexford County Council), Vicki O’Donnell (Founder, Wilder Wander and Hatch Lab Resident), Ian McMorrough (Leinster Director, Bank of Ireland) and Tom Banville (Head of Enterprise, Wexford County Council).
Anybody interested in learning more about the Hatch Lab can make informal enquiries by emailing info@thehatchlab.ie.