This is the other place: Utah firms that are finding a pot of gold in Ireland

IDA Ireland, the agency that promotes foreign investment in that country, has released a report that found 2025 to be a booming year for Western U.S. companies investing in the Emerald Isle. But Utah seemed to be ahead of the curve, as its corporations began establishing a growing presence there more than 30 years ago. 

Beginning as soon as the early 1990s, Utah corporations — beginning with medical technology entities — started investing in Ireland. And the trend continues today. 

Among the well-known Utah success stories that have a presence in Ireland are:

Merit Medical: Among the first to arrive in Ireland, Merit built a medical device manufacturing facility in the Parkmore Business Park in Galway beginning in 1993. The plant now employs more than 1,000, making it one of Ireland’s leading medtech manufacturing hubs.

Utah Medical Products: The company formed its Irish subsidiary in 1995 and built a facility in Athlone in 1996. Medical devices from the plants are distributed throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Qualtrics: As a leader of a wave of Utah technology companies to have a presence in Ireland, Qualtrics opened its Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) headquarters in Dublin in 2013. Home to operations, customer support and product development, the Dublin office is approaching 900 employees.

Overstock.com: Located in Sligo, Overstock’s location is a tech innovation center supporting global platform development. The firm has been there since 2013.

Pluralsight: Supporting international sales, customer success and operations functions since 2018, Pluralsight’s Dublin office is the company’s EMEA headquarters.

Ancestry: The Provo-based company has had an office in Dublin for more than 10 years, providing customer operations and international market expansion services.

DoTerra: Ireland has proved to be a particularly convenient location for doTerra’s essential oil production as many of its raw materials are sourced in Europe. The firm opened operations there in 2020.

Zagg: With operations in Shannon’s Free Zone since 2013, Zagg’s 300 employees handle logistics, distribution and regional operations duties for its device protection products.

Ivanti: Dublin also serves as the EMEA base for Ivati’s IT management and security software operations.

Biomerics: A medical device manufacturer, Biomerics established its Irish Centre of Excellence in Galway in 2022.

Other Utah companies with an Ireland presence include StorageCraft, Utah International, MarketStar, SynergySuite and Henry Schein One.