Toshiba is targeting growth in Ireland as its resurgent economy opens up significant opportunities in both the commercial and residential air conditioning and heat pump sectors.

Ken Lawlor (pictured) has been appointed as sales manager for Ireland to spearhead the strategy, with a brief to develop both the distribution and direct sales channel, working closely with long-established Toshiba distributor GT Phelan.

Mr Lawlor said: “As the fastest growing economy in the EU, we believe there are huge opportunities for us to grow in Ireland. The property sector continues to rebound and, in particular, we are seeing significant demand for premium office space – as Ireland continues to attract inward investment and relocation of companies due to the low rate of corporation tax and dynamic workforce.”

The company has already secured two major orders for VRF air conditioning over the past month. The move is part of its strategy to double air conditioning sales by 2020. It is targeting growth in Ireland across its range of class-leading split systems, high performance VRF air conditioning and air-to-air and air-to-water heat pumps.

In addition to Class A office space, the company sees a major opportunity in the domestic market, driven by the target to build 50,000 state and private new homes a year. With a mandatory requirement for a component of renewable energy, heat pumps are seen as an attractive option, particularly for social housing, where their efficiency can dramatically reduce power bills.

General manager, David Dunn, said: “Ireland is important to us, and we are investing significantly to develop our presence and support our growing customer base. This means increasing our support for the distributor channel as well as developing a component of direct sales, as we have done successfully for many years in the UK.

“Following Ken’s appointment, customers in the Republic and North have the technical and commercial back-up they need on the ground to compete and win. Ken will help fast-track communications and make sure we chase down every opportunity and provide a first class service.”

He added: “We are proud of the heritage and brand strength Toshiba has in Ireland, as a result of the outstanding work by GT Phelan over many years. The company is one of Toshiba’s longest-serving distributors in Europe, something we acknowledged and celebrated not so long ago with an award to the company during our distributor conference, held in Dublin.

We look forward to building on our successful partnership, and working to maximise the opportunities presented for the benefit of all concerned.”