This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

St. Patrick's Day has some extra meaning at eight Utah companies that have operations in the Emerald Isle.

They're part of a contingent of U.S.-based firms enticed by IDA Ireland — an Irish government agency responsible for attracting foreign investments — to take advantage of the country's low corporate tax rate and to access its technological talent as they look to expand into European markets.

"Our experience of doing business in Europe from our Irish base has been phenomenal," said Ryan Harris, CEO of Qualtrics, a private research software company based in Provo, in a statement on IDA Ireland's website.

"Ireland provides us with the perfect entry point to Europe," he added. "Through our relationship with IDA Ireland, within a matter of weeks we were able to very quickly move from initial discussions to full-scale operational implementation. … We're ahead of our business targets and on track to increase our workforce to 250 by the end of 2016."

Qualtrics' experience is the type IDA Ireland likes to promote as it works with companies from "beginning to end to set them up in Ireland," said Deirdre Moran, who concentrates on western U.S. companies involved in emerging technologies and having high growth potential.

"We work with companies from a wide range of sectors, including financial services, biotech, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and software," she said, citing Merit Medical and Utah Medical Products as two examples of Utah-based medical-device manufacturers that have Irish operations.

Utah Medical Products, for instance, recently opened a 77,000-squre-foot facility to make and package medical devices, particularly those helpful to women and their babies.

Moran said similar approaches to business make Ireland and Utah natural fits for one another.

"We can see parallels," she said. "Both have a very pro-business ecosystem, allowing both locally grown and international companies there to thrive and grow. Both Utah and Ireland are producing great talent from globally ranked universities."

In addition, both have vibrant young workforces and plenty of people with fluency in more than one language, helping businesses to reach different corners of Europe and the Middle East.

"The sense of community that you experience in Utah is very similar to what Ireland is famous for — a sense of welcoming, hospitality and friendliness," Moran said. "In terms of quality of life, both attract millions of tourists from around the world to admire the natural beauty."

mikeg@sltrib.com Utah firms in Ireland

Utah companies that have operations based in Ireland:

• Ancestry.com — Employs 80 people at European headquarters in Dublin

• LANDesk Software — Has international financial services center in Dublin

• Merit Medical — Employs 506 at manufacturing plant in Galway

• Overstock.com — Employs 20 and hiring more for research and development team in Sligo

• Qualtrics — Has 150 people in Dublin promoting European sales and support

• StorageCraft Technology Corp. — Has European headquarters and 30 employees in Cork

• Utah Medical Products — Built a medical-device manufacturing facility that employs 27 in Athlone

• ZAGG — Has European headquarters and 25 employees in Limerick

Source: IDA Ireland