Principal Investigator: Dr Walter Stanley
EJ, is the global leader in the design and manufacture of infrastructure access solutions which include covers and frames for water, sewer, drainage, telecommunications distributed in over 140 countries. EJ is a US company with operations in USA, Europe and Asia, whose Irish plant is based in Birr, Co. Offaly. In 2013 EJ commenced an innovation partnership with Irish Composites Centre (IComp), an EI funded Technology Centre at the University of Limerick, to develop an access cover made from composite materials to supplement its extensive range of steel and cast iron products. The work encompassed the full development cycle from concept to production. The outcome was a new high-quality prototype access cover with significantly higher performance-to-weight ratio, meeting the requirements of the EU standard EN 124:2015. The project finished in 2016. The success of the project saw significant investment from the parent organisation through 2016/17 and additional job creation. Dr. Vincent Cooper, Composite and Plastics Product Manager at EJ, noted: “Our projects with IComp have provided us with access to valuable knowledge and expertise which has helped EJ in Ireland become the centre for composite product development and supply to our European customer base”. The TTO was heavily involved in the initial proposal preparation and creation of IComp in 2009 and in subsequent proposal development and contract negotiations with EJ.
Underpinning funding sources include: Enterprise Ireland.
TTO Support: Relationship Management, Contract Negotiation