History

The Centre for Research in Engineering Surface Technology (CREST) was formed in 2003 in partnership with DIT (now TU Dublin) and Enterprise Ireland.

CREST was set up to boost the Institute’s research activity and provide an invaluable service to industrial and academic communities.  Since its beginning CREST has been involved in product development, technical investigation, consultancy, research, training and troubleshooting for a wide range of companies.

Its precursor was the Institute for Industrial Research Standards (IIRS). IIRS was established in 1946 by the Irish state in order to encourage scientific research and in turn improve national industries.

IIRS later evolved into EOLAS and then Forbairt before becoming Enterprise Ireland (EI) in 1998. EI focuses mainly on developing industry and enterprise in the State and to strengthen the skills base within Ireland.

The CREST Technology Gateway is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the ERDF Southern, Eastern & Midland Regional Programme 2021-27