Mixing friendship and business can be problematic  but in the case of Kieran Leavy and his good friend Ted Berry, from the Magni Group, this was certainly not the case.

Leavy will soon receive almost $200,000, as a reward for bringing Magni to Portarlington and creating 50 news jobs in Ireland.

The “Connector” Leavy, who runs a security company in Portarlington, County Laois, met Berry in Dublin years ago and they had remained friends. When Leavy heard Magni were looking to expand he suggested Portarlington as an option. After the friends and their families met and discussed their options the deal was made and Magni’s next step will create 50 jobs in the Laois town.

Already registered as a ‘Connector’ with ConnectIreland Leavy will now receive a financial reward from the Irish Government of $100,000 (€75,000) or $1,990 (€1,500) per job.

The Magni Group is the global leader in corrosion resistant, automotive coatings and currently has 23 locations in eight different countries, all of which will be supported by the new Irish manufacturing facility.  Clients already on their books include General Motors and Ford, while new specifications at Toyota and Volkswagen are expected to dramatically grow The Magni Group.

ConnectIreland is an incentivised referral programme which is approved by IDA Ireland.  Under this programme, anybody can refer a company to www.connectireland.com and, if successful, the person will receive a significant financial reward based on the number of jobs created.

Since ConnectIreland was launched just 16 months ago, over 8,000 people at home and abroad have registered as ‘Connectors’ i.e. have signed up to actively seek out companies that might invest in job creation ventures in Ireland. Over 700 companies were suggested to ConnectIreland and, currently, the company is in active discussions with over 50 companies that are seriously considering Ireland as a location for their European operations.

For further information or to arrange an interview with the ‘Connector’ or a ConnectIreland representative, contact Naoise Coogan on 087 1959938 or email ncoogan@connectireland.com. See also www.connectireland.com.

Here’s a video of Kieran Leavy and his good friend Ted Berry, from the Magni Group telling their story: