Up to 1000 attend quinn glass meeting in ballyconnell

Seamus Enright at Ballyconnell Community Hall

 

“A local bid would be welcomed by this community. That is the unequivocal message which should leave this hall tonight to any preferred bidder for Quinn Glass, unless that bidder is locally managed, locally owned and is directly accountable to the people of this region,” Lisnaskea businessman Martin Maguire told tonight’s meeting in Ballyconnel, to rapturous applause.

Up to 1,000 local people and workers from the various former Sean Quinn owned industries along the border region gathered at the Community Hall in Ballyconnell tonight, Monday, January 12.

With the proposed sale the former Quinn Glass plant, recently rebranded Encirc nearing completion The Anglo-Celt understands, the public meeting was held by way of gauging the local appetite in support of a local bidder to step in and make the purchase instead.

The meeting concluded with organisers adopting a proposal from Quinn Business Retention Company (QBRC) to meet them and discuss issues surrounding the sale, including any any possibility that a similar separate financial structure could be set up to that which aided the buy-out of the construction and packaging parts of the former Quinn Group.

Mr Maguire has emerged as the secretary of the Quinn Glass Retention Company (QGRC), who claim to have been behind the sole local bidder for Quinn Glass.

However, the group, who are not yet a registered company state they were thwarted in putting forward a financial deal for the company by its current management, Aventas Group.

Aventas deny this.

In the region of 600 people are currently employed across the Quinn Glass companies in Derrylin, Co Fermanagh and in Elton, Britain.

Staff and management at the both plants first received word late last week that a “preferred bidder” had been identified, understood to be Spanish glass manufacturing company, Vidrala

While admitting an expression of interest was received in October last year from London-based financial advisor acting on behalf of a “local group”, Aventas maintain that “no formal funded offer was ever submitted nor has there been any further communication from this financial advisor since November.”

The appeal for support for any such local buyout at tonight’s meeting continued from Fr Gerard Comiskey, who concluded in his speech by saying: “I want to make an appeal to the workers in the glass factory and to all of you gathered here tonight. I know your immediate concerns are paying your mortgage and all of your other bills.

“But take a look down the road. Can you rely on the paper promises of people who have let this community down before? Our only sure way of keeping your jobs is to return the factory to local ownership, management, directorship, but we need your help to do that,” Fr Comiskey said.

The Unite union meanwhile, which represents workers at the plant, has welcomed commitments by any new buyer to retain the local management team and proposed investment at the glass plant.

“We welcome the announcement that the preferred bidder will retain the factory's local management team and has the significant reserves necessary to upgrade the Derrylin/ Ballyconnell furnace.

“Such an investment provides considerable surety as to the long-term commitment of the bidder to the plant.

“We will continue to liaise with all relevant parties throughout the process of transfer.”

 

See this week's Anglo-Celt newspaper, out Wednesday, January 14 for full report