Economic Activities (Secondary)

Economic Sectors and the Industrial System

A secondary economic activity processes raw materials into finished products. You decide the sector by the work done, not the building it happens in.

Every manufacturing plant operates as an industrial system:

• Inputs: Things that go into the factory, such as raw materials, electricity, workers, money, and machinery.
• Processes: Tasks that turn inputs into products, including mixing, heating, assembling, and packaging.
• Outputs: Finished products sent to customers, alongside scrap waste or useful by-products.

Types of Manufacturing Industry

Geographers classify manufacturing into three main groups based on weight and flexibility:

• Heavy industry: Uses large volumes of bulky raw materials and heavy machinery. Moving these materials costs a lot, so plants usually sit near deep ports or mines. Aughinish Alumina in Co. Limerick is a good Irish example.
• Light industry: Uses small, lightweight parts to make compact goods like electronics and medical devices. Apple in Cork is an example.
• Footloose industry: An industry not tied to any raw material source. Because the parts and finished goods are light, it can set up in many locations with good road access and reliable broadband. Intel in Leixlip, Co. Kildare is a footloose computer chip maker.

Factors Affecting Factory Location

A factor is any influence that shapes where a business chooses to locate. Factory managers check several key factors before picking a site:

• Raw materials: Heavy or perishable ingredients pull factories close to suppliers to cut haulage bills or keep goods fresh.
• Transport: Fast links to motorways, cargo ports, or airports allow lorries to deliver parts and ship exports on time.
• Labour: Towns provide assembly workers, while universities supply trained engineers and computer technicians.
• Markets: Locating near customers saves money on transport and prevents fresh goods from spoiling.
• Services: Every factory needs reliable electricity, mains water, and high-speed broadband.
• Government and EU policy: IDA Ireland offers advance factory plots and grants to draw employers to specific regions.

Case Study: Apple in Hollyhill, Cork

Learning Outcome 2.5 asks you to study one real secondary activity in detail:

• Name and location: Apple in Hollyhill, Co. Cork.
• Function: Assembling custom iMac desktop computers from manufactured components.
• Inputs: Semi-finished components like logic boards, processors, aluminium cases, skilled labour, electricity, and water.
• Processes: Scanning bar-coded parts into trays, soldering microchips, assembling cases, running software tests, and boxing products.
• Outputs: Finished iMac computers for export, alongside packaging waste.
• Location factors: Cork offers an educated workforce from local colleges. It also gives direct access to Cork Airport, shipping ports, and IDA advance business parks with high-speed broadband.

Community Impacts and Sustainability

Setting up a factory brings major economic gains, but it can trigger heated planning disputes with neighbours:

• Local benefits: Direct factory wages support nearby shops, cafes, and suppliers through the multiplier effect.
• Planning conflicts: Companies want sites near roads to create jobs. Nearby residents often object to planning applications because they worry about truck traffic, night shift noise, smells, or air pollution.
• Sustainability: An industry is sustainable when it meets today's needs without stopping future generations from meeting theirs. Modern factories use rooftop solar panels, treat wastewater before disposal, and reuse excess heat to cut emissions.

Key terms

Secondary Economic Activity

The processing or manufacturing of raw materials into finished products.

Function

The specific service or purpose a particular land use or building provides.

Location

The place where a geographical feature, town, or factory sits.

Factor

An influence or control that shapes where something happens or locates.

Footloose Industry

An industry not tied to a fixed raw material site that can locate in many places.

Industrial System

A way of describing manufacturing through three linked stages: inputs, processes, and outputs.

Sustainability

Meeting present needs without stopping future generations from meeting their own needs.