A State-backed €6 million investment by two returned emigrants will create 50 high-skill jobs over the next three years.

Two brothers, Edward and Michael Hickey, have begun a company called Autolaunch in Bagenalstown, Carlow. The business is being started with a €6 million investment, some of which was secured from State development agency, Enterprise Ireland.

The company will manufacture and export machine tools used in the production of automotive components. It plans to hire up to 50 people over the next three years. The global market for the equipment Autolaunch will manufacture is estimated at €30 billion a year.

The Hickeys have returned from Canada where they had been working in the automotive supplies sector.

Announcing the project yesterday, the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, said it would be a significant boost for Carlow.

The news comes in the wake of yesterday's double jobs blow. Cigarette maker Gallaher announced that it would cease manufacturing at its facility in Tallaght, Dublin, and lay off 121 workers.

At the same time, the Loretta Bloom clothing manufacturer in Limerick announced that it planned to close, leading to the loss of 46 jobs.

Autolaunch has already secured business from leading European auto manufacturers, BMW and Mercedes. The company will operate from a 4,700 sq m facility in the Carlow town.

Mr Michael Hickey worked in Canada for Magna, one of the world's largest automotive component suppliers. Mr Edward Hickey was a senior manager at its subsidiary, Massive Die.

He completed his apprenticeship in toolmaking at L'Apple in Carlow in the 1980s.

He and many other men who worked there emigrated to Toronto in the late 1980s to work in what was then a thriving automotive sector. A number of Carlow people now hold senior posts with Magna.

According to Enterprise Ireland, the Hickeys and their team have extensive global knowledge and experience in the industry.