SanDisk eyes €1bn sales from new HQ in Swords

SANDISK, a $2.3bn flash storage card maker from Silicon Valley, expects to generate €1bn in sales out of its new headquarters for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) which has just opened in Swords, Co Dublin.

Ed Moro, SanDisk vice-president and chief executive of the Swords facility, said employment will be expanded to over 50 people in the near future. The Swords investment is costing less than €500,000 initially.

The high-growth company already sells more than 100m memory cards a year for mobile phones, MP3 players, digital cameras and laptops.

Mr Moro said the high penetration of mobile phones and digital cameras in Europe has led to the relocation of its headquarters from Holland to Swords.

If SanDisk can crack the European market, it will increase its market share from an estimated 22pc to 50pc. The S&P 500 company also plans to replicate its success in the US, where it has become the clear number two to Apple's iPod for MP3 players.

SanDisk feels Apple's domination can be challenged throughout Europe and the Middle East and has teamed up with Rhapsody to provide content.

SanDisk founder and ceo Eli Harari invented memory chips which can store digital photos on tiny cards that can be used in any electronic device from games consoles to personal digital assistants (PDAs).

The company has just opened a new $2.3bn wafer fabrication plant in Japan in a joint venture with Toshiba.

SanDisk is recruiting multilingual sales, marketing and finance staff.

SanDisk is the only company worldwide which has the rights to both manufacture and sell every major flash card format.