Irish animation company Kavaleer will create 30 new animation jobs over the course of 2012 and it celebrated its tenth anniversary.
“It’s amazing to think that what started out in 1998 as a hobby has developed into something this big over the past decade,” said Kavaleer’s CEO and founder Andrew Kavanagh.
“Ten years ago, we got our first commission and took a risk by starting a business in the midst of a recession. I’m so glad we did because now this gets to be my day job.
“We’re delighted to announce that we will be taking on additional staff in 2012 as we work on exciting international projects,” he said.
The animation production company has been twice nominated for an IFTA, a British Animation Award and has won four Digital Media Awards. It has worked with Sesame Street, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Disney and its productions have been selected by more than 100 international festivals over the past 10 years.
It first co-produced a pre-school series called Lifeboat Luke with Straandlooper Productions set in the fictional seaside community of Donaghadoo. It then launched its own series called Garth and Bev on RTÉ Junior, which has since been sold to the UK, China, Portugal, America and Australia. Its most recent collaboration was with Dinamo Productions on a new series called Abadas.
Along with a co-production of a pre-school series, the company intends to extend its interactive games and e-learning production to a €1m turnover by April 2012.
It also has plans for mobile apps in future. It has already produced artwork for the game ‘Diner Dash’ across the iOS platform and the PC. The company is currently developing an Irish show called BedHeads, as well as a UK children’s series.
“The passion, support and energy shown by the Kavaleer crew over the last 10 years has been tremendous. Their dedication helped the company through some tough times and to strive for bigger and better opportunities,” said Gary Timpson, MD and producer of Kavaleer.
