Secondary Economic Activities - Manufacturing

Light industry

Uses light raw materials, e.g. Apple

Heavy Industry

Uses heavy machinery and heavy or bulky raw materials, e.g. Aughinish Alumina, Co. Limerick

Footloose Industry

Not tied to a particular location and can move easily.

Multinational Corporations (MNC)

Has its headquarters in one country and factories (branch plants) or offices in other countries, e.g. Apple.

Industrial Estate

Dedicated area for factories located on the outskirts of a town or city.

Industrial Inertia

When an industry stays in a location even though it would make better business sense to move somewhere else.

Greenfield Site

A location where nothing has been built before.

Serviced Land

There's enough land to build and has services a factory needs, such as electricity, water and telecommunications.

Labour supply

Workers a factory needs.

Capital

Industry will locate near banks, investors and the government because this makes it easier to access capital.

Raw Materials

To reduce transport costs, a factory must locate close to the source of raw materials, especially if they are very bulky.

Transport Facilities

Allows a factory to have raw materials and finished products shipped as cheaply and quickly as possible.

Market

If a factory produces a finished product that is perishable, or bulky, then it will locate close to the market.

Government Policy

The Industrial Development Agency (IDA) is a government body that provides incentives to companies to locate in Ireland.

The European Union (EU)

Developed services, communications and transport links encouraged industry in Ireland.