New Co Kildare Chamber will represent 400 firms with 42,000 workers

A bright new business future for Co Kildare will begin next week as North Kildare Chamber of Commerce and Kildare South Chamber officially merge to create a single Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.

The merged entity, to be known as the 'Co Kildare Chamber' will become one of the largest regional Chamber of Commerce in Ireland and will be matched only in scale by the Chambers of Commerce in Ireland's larger cities.

The body will have more than 400 members, employing more than 42,000 - including a Who's Who of well-known multinationals and large companies such as Kerry Group, Pfizer, Bord na Móna, Maynooth University, Kildare Village, Queally Group, Newbridge Silverware, the K Club, Punchestown, Naas and the Curragh racecourses.

The process to bring about this merger involved a series of mediated meetings over a period of months last year.Chambers Ireland, the umbrella body for the chambers movement, has welcomed the move and believes the agreement represents a roadmap for other counties to follow suit.

Ian Talbot, CEO of Chambers Ireland, said that the organisation was “delighted to support chambers moving to create greater critical mass and improve resource deployment in order to provide a wider range of services to a broader membership base, while at the same time retaining structures to ensure the voice of all towns within their remit are properly represented”.

A high profile promotional campaign; "Choose Kildare" was launched by Kildare County Council at its monthly Council Meeting in January to highlight the many advantages County Kildare has to offer business.

The purpose of the "Choose Kildare" project is to highlight the County as a business location whether starting out, expanding or re-locating.

The two minute long video features contributions from local business figures, Alan & Gary McCormack founders of Carve On Leather, Kevin O'Connor MD of Colourtrend and Malcolm Sheil, President & CEO of Kerry EMEA.