American helmet firm looks to establish presence in Limerick  

AN AMERICAN firm which supplies gear to the Nato military alliance is set to establish an operation here in Limerick.

The owner of Cean Sports, Terry Burke, is scoping out locations across the county, ahead of setting up shop, in a move which could bring up to 15 jobs to Limerick.

Cean provides helmets and waterproof headsets to military, maritime rescue, commercial off-shore and mountain operations, and has been operational in Cape Cod in the USA for 12 years.

Recently, Nato, which counts 28 European countries and two North American nations in its membership, placed an order for 800 helmets from the firm.

And it is the current climate, Mr Burke says, which has prompted the firm to look to setting up a European hub which is hoped will be ready by autumn.

“Being a Nato supplier, we had some interest in having a location in Europe. We are chatting with a couple of folks we work with. I’m trying to find somewhere that is not off the beaten path, but somewhere we can hire three to five people to start off with. I’d be looking for a young team, good, aggressive, wanting to work ,wanting to do something better and different,” he told the Limerick Leader.

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On Thursday and Friday, Cean Helmets will exhibit at the Irish Skipper Expo, Ireland’s flagship fisheries show which, this year, takes place in the University of Limerick Sports Arena.

The businessman has local ancestry, tracing it back to the parish of Lattin-Cullen, which lies just over the border in Tipperary.

He also spent a week in Limerick in 1984 as part of a touring theatre company, performing at the old Savoy Theatre in the city.