German electrical giant Kärcher plans to invest millions in Irish hub
A German cleaning technology giant could invest over €2m to supports its Irish growth plans, including creating new jobs and doubling its sales.
Kärcher, known for its yellow and black cleaning equipment and power washers, said it expects to make the investment in its Irish operation over the next five years. It has already doubled the size of its team in the last six years in Ireland and plans to introduce new products to the Irish market, with new customers, staff members and organisational structures creating a need for new premises.
Speaking with the Sunday Independent, Paul Carroll, managing director of Kärcher Ireland, said the company plans to grow the business from €10m worth of sales in 2022 to €20m by 2030, with plans to bolster its staff numbers from 30 to 45 by 2027.
Carroll said he expects robotic cleaning products will become increasingly important over the next five years in professional cleaning as companies struggle with labour shortages.
“Over the last five years we have grown every product category in the portfolio and every customer type,” he said. “While different product categories and customers types have grown at different paces, we have a clear view of which product categories will deliver growth and who the customers for those categories are.
“On the retail side of the business we are very clear that our growth will come from indoor cleaning products and again here robotics will be one of the categories that will lead the way.”
He added new roles at Kärcher Ireland would be required in areas including sales and marketing, engineering, and customer support “to cater for the continued growth across each of these areas”.
Kärcher Group comprises over 150 companies in 80 countries and had a global turnover of over €3.16bn in 2022, up 2.2pc on the previous year.
The company added over 900 new staff to its workforce, employing 15,330 people globally.
On the results, Hartmut Jenner, chief executive officer of Kärcher, said: “It's only possible to hold course during turbulent times if everyone's pulling in the same direction.
“Supply chain disruption, rising material and energy prices, inflation and other consequences of the war in Ukraine have resulted in developments that are difficult to predict. Kärcher was again able to increase its turnover slightly and gain market shares as a family-owned company with global operations. But we need to not let up in order to continue to be successful.”