On October 15th 2019, Professor Willie Donnelly, President of Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), officially opened Spearline’s Waterford office in ArcLabs Research & Innovation Centre, Co Waterford.  At the opening, the tech company announced 24 new jobs and the expansion represents an investment of €2.9m over two years. 

Speaking at the official opening, Cllr John Pratt, Mayor of the City and County of Waterford said: “Spearline's story is one that we can be particularly proud of here in Waterford.  As the capital of the South East with a centre of excellence in education in Waterford Institute of Technology, it is an incredible achievement for the opening of their new global sales office here in Waterford. I want to congratulate Liam Dunne, his leadership and entrepreneurial talent in developing a service that will add to the quality control of an industry that already supports a large number of jobs here in Waterford, while adding their own quality jobs on top of that.  This positions Waterford as a global focal-point in telecommunication support and sales.”

Speaking at the event, John Halligan TD, Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development said: “I very much welcome the opening of Spearline‘s global sales office in ArcLabs, Waterford Institute of Technology and the announcement of the 24 new jobs today.  The success of Spearline is testament to what can be achieved with resilience and an ability to adapt, persevere and innovate. The Government’s Future Jobs Initiative commits to ‘Embracing Innovation and Technological Changes’ and I would like to reassure the companies here today that the Government is focussed on doing everything within its power to support companies to be more resilient and innovative.  I wish Spearline well in its endeavours and look forward to seeing the impact this new office has on the economy of the region.”

Announcing Spearline’s investment and job creation in Waterford, Liam Dunne, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Spearline said: “Today, I am delighted to announce that we are expanding our team here in Waterford by 24 new team members.  Spearline has grown by over 600% in the past four years and we plan to continue investing in the local economy by creating employment into the future. I am one of 11 WIT graduates on the Spearline team; we have six Commercial Software Development graduates, including Co-Founders Kevin Buckley, CEO and Matthew Lawlor, CTO.  I am honoured to represent Spearline in Waterford and to have the opportunity to grow our base - both in terms of international customers and team members.”

Officially opening the Spearline office in Waterford, Professor Willie Donnelly, President at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) said: “The institute is delighted Spearline has chosen to open its global sales office in ArcLabs Research and Innovation centre on the West Campus.  Spearline was founded by WIT graduates who have rapidly grown the company on the international stage. We wish them the best of luck in their future development and look forward to extending our partnership.”

Martin Corkery, Regional Director, South & South East Regions, Enterprise Ireland said: “ArcLabs’ Waterford base has proven to be a centre that is driving real success among entrepreneurs in the South East.  Through our partnership with Waterford Institute of Technology, Enterprise Ireland has made a number of key investments over recent years to ensure that the ArcLabs centre would have the very best facilities.  It is fantastic to see it now being fully utilised by businesses in the region which continues to go from strength to strength. I am especially pleased to see Spearline open an office here today and become part of the ArcLabs community.  In August, Spearline unveiled its headquarters in Cork and now it’s collaboration with ArcLabs in Waterford will no doubt help forge even more regional jobs and development. I look forward to continuing our relationship with the company as it embarks on the next stage of its expansion and to supporting ArcLabs as more and more businesses come on board.”

Dr Aisling O’Neill, Manager at ArcLabs Research & Innovation Centre said: “ArcLabs is the perfect site for Spearline's expansion, given the strong links to Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) with 11 WIT graduates on the team, including the Co-Founders. Liam Dunne, CCO at Spearline took a single desk in ArcLabs in 2016 so it's such an exciting development to see the expansion that the company has undergone and that ArcLabs will now be home to the global sales office.  Since joining us in May 2019, the team in Spearline has been incredibly active in the ArcLabs community and we're so delighted that they have chosen ArcLabs to support their global ambition.”

Spearline is a technology company that proactively monitors phone numbers for audio quality and connectivity globally.  It is headquartered in Skibbereen, Co Cork and has offices in Waterford, Romania and India. The Spearline platform enables enterprises and telecommunications service providers to test connectivity and quality on global telecoms networks, testing automatically at volume.  Spearline has conducted millions of test calls worldwide, resulting in billions of data-points. It has global network coverage and operates a 24 hours per day, 365 days per year support service for its international customers.

ArcLabs Research and Innovation Centre was established in 2005 and since then has supported more than 60 companies to start/scale in South East Ireland between the sites in Waterford and Kilkenny. ArcLabs represents an ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation. Bringing together academic research, enterprise and regional stakeholders, ArcLabs is committed to developing a sustainable economy in South East Ireland through supporting world-class enterprises creating high-value, interesting jobs in the region. Since its inception, ArcLabs has been co-located with the Telecommunications, Software and Systems Group (TSSG) and the Centre for Enterprise Development and Regional Economy (CEDRE) of Waterford Institute of Technology providing a vital link to leading researchers to support the enterprises being developed there.

http://www.arclabs.ie/