Secondary economic activities

• Secondary economic activity

  This is the name given to manufacturing - the processing of raw materials into finished products
• Manufacturing


  1. Raw materials (inputs) processed into finished products (outputs)

  2. Works according to a system
• Types of industry


  • Light industry - Uses light raw materials and produces light, small and easily transported items
  • Heavy industry - Uses heavy raw materials and produces heavy, bulky items
• Multinational corporations (MNCs)


  Businesses with factories in many countries around the world
• Footloose industry


  An industry that is not tied to a particular location and can move easily
• Apple


  • An electronics devices and service company
  • Example of a high-tech industry
• Apple's headquarters are in California, USA but it has operations in many countries
• Apple is located in Ireland to serve the EU common market and because of the availability of educated labour
• Secondary economic activities


  • Activities that source and consume materials from primary economic activities
  • Function as a system to process raw materials into finished products
• During each stage of manufacturing, waste or by-products are created
• Waste products from manufacturing

  • Wood chips used for animal bedding or to soak up spills
  • Sawdust used to make compost
• Factors influencing factory location

  • Type of raw materials used
  • Transport links
  • Access to services
  • Availability of labour
  • Proximity to target market
  • Linkages with other companies
  • Access to capital
• Brownfield sites


  Land that was previously used for industrial purposes
• Greenfield sites


  Undeveloped areas, typically agricultural land, that have not been used for industry before
• Industrial Development Agency (IDA) Ireland

  • Government organisation that partners with foreign companies to secure new investment in Ireland
  • Offers funding and grants to companies considering setting up in Ireland
• Enterprise Ireland


  • Government organisation responsible for supporting the development and growth of Irish companies
  • Provides a range of supports for start-ups and business expansion
• Industries can change location over time due to factors like changes in demand or industry size
• Kerry Group


  • Started as a small dairy company in Ireland and has grown into a global multinational
  • Expanded into dairy alternatives, chocolate drinks and food/beverage/pharmaceutical ingredients
• Kerry Group opened a new facility in South Africa in 2022 to meet growing demand for dairy alternatives on the continent