Jobs at risk as Wellman files for Examinership

Last Tuesday, June 3, the clock started ticking. One hundred days to find a solution, to save a business, and to the protect the livelihoods of more than 200 people living in the east of the county.

The people of Mullagh are “worried” and understandably so given the ties the town has to Wellman International (Ireland), Europe’s leading producer of high quality polyester fiber products from recycled post-consumer PET bottles.

Founded 53 years ago and sold in 2011 to global chemical giant Indorama Ventures, fibres manufactured at the sprawling Rosehill site are utilised in a broad range of industrial sectors including automotive, hygiene, home insulation, and leisure products.

The local linkage is perhaps best summed up by the fact that, when staff and concerned locals gathered with elected representatives last Thursday evening (June 5), the meeting was held in the Wellman International room at St Kilian’s Heritage Centre.

“Wellman is synonymous with Mullagh,” assesses local Independent Cllr Shane P O’Reilly from his kitchen table. His own mother worked at Wellman for 25 years. His two brothers also worked there for a time, and his sister-in-law is currently employed by the firm.

At one stage it was widely considered that, to get a job at Wellman’s, was “to have a job for life”.

At its height Wellman processed an estimated 4.5 billion plastic bottles per year, outputting around 85,000 tonnes of recycled, reusable material. The factory now ships only a fraction of that.

“There is a lot of anger out there with the direction people feel the business has been taken in recent years,” explains Cllr O’Reilly. “There is a feeling the [Mullagh plant] has been isolated, there is no question about that.”

Despite investing heavily during Covid in a new Next Generation Recycling Unit, for some, the writing was already on the wall. The dispatch of major company contracts such as Pampers to sister factories in France and Holland, coupled with a push for temporary lay-offs last year, jangled a few nerves.

Wellman’s filing for examinership last week confirmed the fears.

The company issued a press release late Tuesday evening, not long after staff and management were called into a meeting at 5:30pm. They’d applied to the High Court the Friday before, and received approval on the Monday at 2:45pm.

Wellman says the move was made to save the long-standing manufacturing operation, which has grappled with steep financial losses over the past two years.

Wellman’s accounts for 2024, compared to the previous year, show stark deterioration - “double digit” million euro losses.

Owners point the finger at a combination of external pressures, including soaring energy prices - largely driven by ongoing geopolitical conflicts - as well as aggressive competition from cheaper imports originating in China, Africa, and the Middle East.

But there is some push back against that narrative. Despite the bleak numbers, hope remains a buyer can still be found, and the local factory maintained as a “going concern”.

A virtual meeting took place between all Oireachtas members in Cavan-Monaghan, Meath-East and Meath-West on Wednesday morning, June 4, joined by three government front benchers - Ministers Niamh Smyth, Thomas Byrne, and Helen McEntee.

Later that same morning local councillors from Cavan and Meath heard from Examiner Andrew O’Leary, Kieran Wallace of Interpath Advisory, and Anthony Troy, director of Wellman International.

“This decision [to enter examinership] is no reflection on the hard work and commitment of our employees in Mullagh,” Mr Troy said in the company statement issued.

Cllr O’Reilly pointed out that the workers’ actions, after the news broke, show their loyalty and work ethic. Once the Tuesday staff briefing ended, workers returned to the floor and continued working. “That’s the level of dedication in there. Nobody wants to do anything that might jeopardise the business being saved,” he said.

A committee subsequently formed with unions SIPTU, Unite and Connect to try and protect the rights of the workers met on Monday (June 9).

Also on Monday, and with 95 days now left, the elected members of Cavan County Council suspended Standing Orders at their June monthly meeting to discuss the Wellman situation and the impact any closure might have.

They proposed to write to the Taoiseach Michéal Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris, as well as to the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke. Their aim, to stress the importance of Wellman, not just in terms of employment, but to the community.

The grim reality however is that going forward some job losses may be unavoidable.

“We acknowledge that there is the potential for a reduction in our headcount as part of this process,” Mr Troy had said.

But aside from the direct employment numbers it is estimated that Wellman supports the livelihoods of as many as 500 more.

Sandra Lynch is a barber in the village. Her cutting chair is often a place people let loose about their weekly woes. Last Friday afternoon was no different. “It is going to have an effect,” she says of Wellman entering examinership and job losses on the horizon. “[Wellman’s] raised a lot of families in the town. There are some houses with two, maybe three people working in there. It’s a big knock.”

P.J. Smith’s in Mullagh is the kind of traditional Irish shop that gives most main streets their distinct character.

Denis Cannon is gathering up his shopping - bread, milk and other staples. He knows one man who has worked at Wellman’s for the past 40 years, and another “just gone in there, three small kids, a mortgage. He’ll be under pressure alright.”

Pat Reilly Family Butchers sits around the corner from Monaghan’s shop and Post Office. Pat is behind the counter with his wife Mary when the Celt visits. “Hopefully it doesn’t go, for the last two years now it has started to show signs, but hopefully something good can come out of it.”

Reilly’s used to supply Wellman’s with meat. Pat even applied for a job there in his youth, arriving to the door on a Honda 50, he still remembers. He didn’t get the job, but adds: “We all have connections in there. I’ve a brother in law, he’s in there a good while. There were up to 480 people in there at one stage. A lot of people have come and gone through it.”

Cartiona Monaghan at Monaghan’s shop feels there is a “viable business” at Wellman’s.

“The attitude seems to be to try get it back to a point where things are working well again. The hum of Wellman’s is in every home, in every back garden in Mullagh.”

Tommy Tyrrell of Tyrrell’s pub, has hosted his fair share of Wellman staff retirement functions. “A lot of traffic comes through the town because of Wellman’s,” says Tommy leaning out his front door. “There are a lot of people reliant on Wellman’s staff. A lot of local lads, young lads, are after getting jobs in there in recent years. For their sake you have to hope they’ll be kept on.”

Outgoing Cathoirleach of Cavan County Council, Cllr T.P. O’Reilly, and its Chief Executive Eoin Doyle have both been in direct contact with Wellman’s management offering support.

Cllr O’Reilly is confident the manufacturer can reach its full potential again. But to do that there needs to be a “drastic” change in how Ireland itself approaches recycling. He points to the much vaunted Re-Turn scheme as a prime example, which sees 88% of plastic collected shipped off for processing to locations across the world.

“We have this state-of-the-art factory right here on our doorstep. Yet we have tonnes of bottles being shipped out of the country, all in the name of environmentalism. It hardly makes sense.

“Time is ticking now. There’s 100 days to find a buyer. We have to do something. Fingers crossed,” he told the Celt.