From electric mopeds to VR headsets and 3D printers, SETU Arena was the ultimate playground for engineers and tech lovers during the Toys4Engineers Expo recently.
Over 90 companies from across Ireland showcased their technologies and innovations at the event which was organised by Waterford Chamber, in partnership with Engineering the South East and sponsored by Energia.
Speaking after the event, Gerald Hurley, CEO Waterford Chamber said: “Early feedback suggests this was the best Toys4Engineers Expo yet and that is down to the fantastic exhibitors who turned up on the day with the very latest technologies. The atmosphere was electric and I have never seen such enthusiastic networking.
“The amount of business done on the day was heartening with plenty of promises of follow up meetings and of course we had over 80 meetings during our Meet the Buyer offering. At the end of the day, as a Chamber our main goal here was to bring businesses together to generate sales leads and make new contacts. From what we saw on the day, this was certainly achieved.
“It was of particular note the involvement of companies from around the region from Carlow, Wexford and Kilkenny, which affirms the message that the South East is the the fastest growing Irish city-region and is the largest city-region catchment outside of Dublin with a current population of 634,000 within a 60 minute drive.
“We are very fortunate to have strong support from IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Waterford City & County Council, Waterford Chamber Skillnet, Waterford Local Enterprise Office and others, who all collaborate to showcase the region as a beacon of innovation and technology.”
Running concurrently to the Expo were the Speaker Stage and Exhibitor Stage, covering everything from software and digitsization to wind energy and off shore engineering. The presentations concluded with an overview of the North Quays project by Sean Dobbs, Waterford City & County Council and Mark Phelan of BAM, leaving attendees in no doubt that the development will be a game changer for Waterford and the wider South East region.
Plans are already in place for next year with Thursday, October 3rd 2024 confirmed for another day of toys, toys and more toys.
For more information see www.toys4engineers.ie
