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Business Profile

CLEARSTREAM TECHNOLOGIES

Established when the country workforce. Many of these have ClearStream brand products for
was on the cusp of an graduated from Ireland’s third- the market and also entered the
unprecedented economic boom, level colleges and are ready to “peripheral” sector, manufacturing
ClearStream Technologies enter the market with a visionary products not just for the heart
has pretty much seen it all. employer located within striking but also for the leg. This was
It has ridden out the Celtic distance of many of our cities and the obvious route forward as the
Tiger and the subsequent airports. This is just one element company already had developed
crash, successfully completed of the company’s fortunes in the technological know-how to
a management buyout and, in recent years. pursue such a move.
recent years, become the subject ClearStream Technologies was “We felt that the peripheral sector
of a takeover by a superb global initially founded in 1996 as a was where we could really make
giant, CR Bard. Recently they subsidiary of Angiodynamics Ltd, an impact,” Pauline says. “We
have bucked another trend by to manufacture products for the did that and signed some very
expanding their workforce (as a coronary healthcare market. The significant deals with well-known
result of an increased workload) company was previously focused large companies to distribute our
over the last year or so.
on diagnostics and interventional products.”
One person who has been on that procedures. “We were their In 2004, the company floated
rollercoaster since ClearStream first subsidiary outside the US,” on the London exchange. This
was set up in 1996 is Pauline Pauline recalls. That remained allowed the company to gain
Oakes. She now reflects on a the case for four years, before funding for its research and
period of success from the time a management buy-out took development activities in order
ClearStream was acquired by CR place which led to ClearStream to further develop its suite of
Bard in 2011. becoming a wholly Irish-owned products. “We released 12 new
company.
“When we started with CR Bard products, the tide started to turn
we employed about 220,” the As an independent company, for us and we started to grow
Director of Operations says. “We ClearStream was a great success. again.”
are now at 410.” Then came a “seismic change” in By now it was 2006 or 2007 and
the market thanks to the arrival
That upsurge in recruitment has the end of the decade-long boom
come mostly from the Wexford/ of a new generation of stent was in sight. However, because of
southeast area where there is a coronary care products and this ClearStream’s experience, expertise
highly-educated, flexible threatened the very future of the and innovation they were once
business. “We lost a lot of sales in again going against the grain.
a 12-month period. A lot of our “Our fortunes started to turn as
customers disappeared and our we developed a bigger range of
sales dropped dramatically.
‘‘ Ireland is as accessible think our future growth device companies.”
peripheral products and signed
We had to refocus and re-
some deals with large medical
strategy.”
Pauline herself had a diverse and
Having previously
exciting journey since joining
sold on a
ClearStream as a computer
from the east coast of
business-to-
science and economics graduate
business basis,
America as are Seattle or San
She initially took responsibility
decided to
for running the company’s IT
Francisco on the west coast – ClearStream from University College Cork.
develop
network. She subsequently moved
their
which is a key factor in today’s own into IT management, then into
supply chain management. She
global economy. ’’ became supply chain manager
and then joined the board as
an executive director. She then
Pauline Oakes, Director of Operations, ClearStream acceded to the role of Operations
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