It has been more than a month since US President Donald Trump announced his EU tariffs and many Irish companies are working together to figure out how to navigate this new world.
What does it mean for supply chains? What are businesses doing to offset increased costs? Are they exploring new markets and what can they do to avoid laying people off?
The Advanced Technologies in Manufacturing Cluster (ATIM), which comprises over 70 members spanning engineering, polymer, food and drink, medical devices, and technology solutions, is trying to help companies impacted by the US tariffs.
However, manager of the ATIM Cluster Caitríona Mordan said tariffs are not the only uncertainty facing businesses and there are other challenges.
As part of Cluster's work, she explained how in recent days, companies across the midlands have been engaging in workshops and on-site visits with Lean experts.
Lean manufacturing is a production process based on an ideology of maximising productivity while simultaneously minimising waste within a manufacturing operation.
Developed by Toyota in the 1950s, Lean has been a fundamental component of the manufacturing industry for decades.
Senior Group Leader and Lean Management Coach at Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK Paul Blahyj was accompanied by Managing Director of British Rototherm and founding member of Manufacturing Wales Oliver Conger, on visits to seven companies based in the midlands.
"Around seven months ago, we had a workshop with companies around continuous improvement, and really the importance of that now more than ever companies as they face global pressures," explained Ms Mordan.
"One of the key outcomes from that meeting was to try and attract global experts, not just so that they could visit them in a conference style, but really to bring in experts that they could support the companies here in a very practical way," she said.
The Lean experts held workshop sessions with business owners before going out on site to offer 'hands on' expertise and guidance.
"What's really unique here is these experts are coming on site to our companies, and it gives them real insight into the challenges that these companies have," explained Ms Mordan.
"But most importantly, they were able to provide expert advice and solutions that the companies can really adopt and embed into their organisations immediately.
"This kind of practical, immediate response to tackling some of these challenges is really what the cluster is about, to help support these companies so they remain competitive," she said.
'Getting the insight is fantastic'
Air in Mullingar is an industrial automation company delivering solutions through robotics technology. It employs over 50 people. It has customers across the globe, from China to America and in Europe.
It was one of the companies which played host to a visit from the Lean experts as part of the cluster's work.
"In the current environment productivity and efficiency is key," explained Engineering Manager at Air John Walshe.
"It is hard to get staff right now, cost materials are gone up and we can't put up the cost of our products because we want to remain competitive, that's a particular challenge for us here in Mullingar.
"Navigating tariffs has also been a challenge.
"All of the equipment you see here, when we purchase that equipment in, it will have tariffs," he explained.
"A lot of our raw materials have increased, and also shipping the equipment out to our customers, that has become a real minefield," he said.
"We have to fill in so much more detail about the origin of the materials and where they come from," Mr Walshe said.
"We're very lucky because we're now a global company so we can position the work with our customers, what works best technically but also geographically to navigate things like tariffs," he said.
Mr Walshe said getting the expert advice is "fantastic".
"To have someone from Toyota in the UK walking through our site, giving me and the team live feedback on where we are on our Lean journey, it's fantastic.
"The likes of today's insight and the work that the cluster does, will really help companies like us keep jobs and keep growing," he said.
Following Paul Blahyj’s visit to the midlands, he said he was impressed with the "thirst" that the companies possess and while there are challenges, there are a lot of positives.
"I work all over the UK and I've been to lots of other places too and I've nowhere come across the passion that's in Ireland," he said.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
"As someone who works in Lean manufacturing, Mr Blahyj said it's all about small, continuous improvements, adding that it's not only about the financial savings.
"It's about the mindset of people wanting to improve the business," he said.
"I think the most important part is that the senior person of the business supports the change."
"The people on the shop floor, the people that are building your product, the people who are working within the service industry, they're the ones who are making it happen and they're the ones who can make a difference to you business.
"It's really important that the people above them support them," Mr Blahyj said.
ATIM Cluster hopes this practical approach will reap rewards.
"The cluster is about supporting companies," said Ms Mordan.
"By understanding their needs and then working to really bring in these supports on an ongoing basis that will enable them to improve all the time," she added.
