On Thursday 5 November 2026, the LMETB’s Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre of Excellence (AMTCE) hosted the inaugural All-Island Advanced and Sustainable Manufacturing Networking Expo at its premises in Dundalk.
The Expo was a cross-border initiative attended by Erin McGreehan TD, Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and Dr Caoimhe Archibald MLA, Minister for the Economy in Northern Ireland. They were met by Martin G. O’Brien, CE and Sadie Ward McDermott, Director of FET at LMETB; Michael Savage CEO of Newry Chamber, Alistair Quinn, Head of Southern Regional Business, Invest NI and Philip Sheridan, Director, AMTCE.
The Expo was organised in collaboration with Invest NI, Belfast Met, SRC, Newry Chamber of Commerce, Bormac, Dundalk Chamber of Commerce, DBEC, North-East Regional Skills Forum and DkIT. The intention is for it to be the first in a series of all-island networking events, alternating between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Minister Archibald and Deputy McGreehan also met Ireland’s first ever intake of Robotic and Automation Apprentices who are in training at AMTCE. LMETB is the first and currently only ETB in Ireland offering the apprenticeship. There are nine male and female apprentices from employers in mining, pharmaceutical, automation, construction and electronic components across eight counties – Cavan, Dublin, Galway, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath and Westmeath.
NI Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald said: “Manufacturing is a vital part of our economy, supporting well-paid jobs, driving productivity and helping us deliver a greener economy. That is why advanced manufacturing is one of my priority sectors and why we are investing in the technology, skills and innovation businesses need to grow and compete.
Manufacturing also operates within a highly integrated all-Ireland economy, with shared supply chains, skills and research partnerships. By strengthening that collaboration, we can help businesses tackle shared challenges, embrace new technologies and build a more competitive and resilient manufacturing sector,” the Minister continued.
Deputy Erin McGreehan said “Advanced manufacturing is about people as much as technology. It is people who develop, operate and adapt new technologies and turn them into commercial opportunities. As Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, it was my pleasure to meet with the first Robotics and Automation Apprentices in AMTCE, Dundalk today.
As the manufacturing sector grows more sophisticated, we need technicians, engineers, data specialists, robotics experts and software developers, and that means backing apprenticeships, further education and lifelong learning. It is vital that SMEs, which don’t have the resources of a multinational to build their own training or R&D facilities, can access these opportunities too,” Deputy McGreehan continued.
At the Expo, small business representatives and industry leaders, researchers, training experts and policy makers met to accelerate cross border collaboration in advanced and sustainable manufacturing.
Speakers and panellists from across the island of Ireland presented case studies and cross-border initiatives with several panel discussions on the challenges and opportunities of AI in advanced and sustainable manufacturing technologies, the challenges facing the industry including the circular economy, skills and training, finding and retaining talent, and the digital transformation of the sector, what would a genuinely connected advanced-manufacturing ecosystem across the island of Ireland look like and where are the strongest opportunities for collaboration.
AI in Advanced and Sustainable Manufacturing
The panel discussion focused challenges and opportunities of AI in the advanced and sustainable manufacturing, focusing on digital twinning, the opportunity to run R&D ‘in silico’ – performing research, experiments, or testing on a computer or via computer simulation, massively accelerating what small, resource- constrained companies can do.
The panel also discussed the opportunities offered by open-source tools, open weight models and edge compute – a distributed computing model bringing data processing and storage physically closer to the source where data is generated, rather than relying solely on a distant centralized cloud or data centre. Examples of SMEs already using AI innovatively were discussed, including the use of affordable, off the shelf computer vision (CV) and real-time bespoke assistants, armed with detailed, specific knowledge of the design being manufactured, accessible via natural language prompts on the factory floor.
Case Studies in Advanced and Sustainable Manufacturing Technologies
From bare walls to living shorelines, demonstrating the opportunities of advanced and sustainable manufacturing technologies, Thomas Holden, National Technical Manager for Concrete Products at Roadstone and architect Justin Kinsella, Managing Director and co-founder of HTL.tech presented details of the ShoreReefs Waterford Project, Ireland’s largest 3D-printed marine biodiversity enhancement scheme for Waterford Council and a working demonstration of what additive construction can do for Irish coastlines.
HTL.tech, BAM, and Roadstone collaborated to re-establish the marine habitat as part of a major expansion of the rail network. The results were 430 bespoke habitat modules printed in low carbon HTL-Roadstone concrete with the design tuned zone by zone to match local conditions along the Suir estuary; 1505 m² of new, colonisable marine habitat created on the wall face and 500m of wall converted to colonisable habitat across five distinct biodiversity zones.
Richard Moore, senior sustainability manager at Terex Corporation, which operates across ten locations on the island of Ireland, presented a case study on how data, AI and technology are helping to move sustainability from periodic reporting towards more informed, data-driven decision making for the company, which designs, manufactures, and supports heavy machinery and industrial equipment, serving as one of the region’s largest manufacturing and engineering employers.
Cross Border Developments, Initiatives and Industry Case Studies
The panel discussed current cross-border developments and initiatives and Edel Treanor, director at Mullan Lighting in Monaghan, which designs and manufactures handcrafted, bespoke, and decorative light fixtures, delivered a presentation on its digitalisation process. The company has undertaken a number of successful cross-border initiatives through Inter-Trade Ireland, including the Acumen programme, Co-Innovate and Innovation Boost and worked with educational institutions like Southern Regional College.
Cross-border initiatives in which AMTCE has been involved include PEACEPLUS funded CyberQuest project; the Five Nations Cyber Initiative; ongoing collaboration with Belfast Metropolitan College in the establishment and development of cross border cybersecurity networks and the upcoming Cyber Academy in partnership with Southern Regional College in Armagh, due to commence in January 2027.
Martin O’Brien, Chief Executive of LMETB said, “I want to thank Dr Caoimhe Archibald, Minister DfE and Deputy Erin McGreehan, Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for their attendance at this key networking Expo on the future of advanced and sustainable manufacturing on the island of Ireland.
Artificial intelligence, robotics, automation, connected production systems, advanced materials and digital technologies are changing how products are designed, developed and manufactured.
At LMETB, we are committed to ensuring that learners have access to the skills, facilities and training needed by industry. By strengthening links between employers and education and training providers, we can develop the talent our industries need to grow and remain competitive. We look forward to continuing this work with our partners in industry, education and government to support a more skilled, innovative and sustainable manufacturing sector,” “O’Brien continued.
The Robotics and Automation apprenticeship was developed by an industry consortium in conjunction with LMETB and validated by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI). AMTCE has dedicated robotics and collaborative robotic labs designed to train learners in modern industrial automation.
Along with industry opportunities the completion of the apprenticeship provides a potential academic progression opportunity to the Southern Regional College in Armagh to enter the third year of a degree programme.
The Expo also hosted tours of AMTCE, live demonstrations and visits to its 3D construction facility in Drogheda.
