An entrpreneur who first came to prominence on TV show ‘Dragon’s Den’ has announced he’s to create 100 jobs.
Smart Storage managing director Paul Jacob featured on the RTE show in 2012 with his stairs storage solutions.
He’s now set to create 100 jobs across Ireland and the UK over the next 18 months.
Sixty jobs will be in Ireland in sales, marketing, logistics, operations and manufacturing. The remainder will be created in the UK.
“What started as a nice storage idea is now a multi-million euro business,” said Mr Jacob. “We have grown considerably since 2011, when, in our first year, we had a turnover of €110,000 with one person in the business.
“Winning our investment on ‘Dragons Den’ helped to accelerate the company’s expansion and we have grown the business to a turnover this year of €3.5m and 50 people employed.
“Next year we are on target to sell over €7.5m of our under-stair storage product.”
He added: “We initially developed the product for the Irish market and then refined the design for the UK. In the last 18 months, Smart Storage has been awarded design patents for Europe, the US and Canada, providing the company with opportunities in these markets.”
The Co Wicklow-headquartered company has satellite bases in Bristol, Coventry, Manchester, Stevenage and Crawley in England. The company will open three new bases as part of its growth plan. Two will be opened in the greater London area and one in the north east of England.
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