Search for Wellman's investor continues
Councillors back workers saying factory ‘raised a lot of families’
Elected members of Cavan County Council are putting their full weight of support behind the 217 Wellman International workers affected by the Mullagh factory entering Examinership, and further back any efforts to promote the plant to prospective investors.
Councillors suspended Standing Orders at their June monthly meeting to discuss the implications facing the local employer, which has had a presence in the east Cavan town for more than 50 years.
An Indorama Ventures company since 2011, Wellman filed a petition with the High Court earlier this month to place its Cavan plant into examinership after experiencing losses in the double-digit millions across 2023 and 2024. The owners blame increased energy prices following geopolitical conflicts and fierce competition from low-priced imports from China, Africa and Middle East.
The factory at Rosehill processes PET (Plastic) products, turning them into highly specialised fibre products.
An interim examiner, Kieran Wallace of Interpath Advisory, has been appointed to engage with stakeholders. His role is to devise a workable survival scheme, nevertheless council representatives, like workers' unions - SIPTU, Unite and Connect - have called on the government to intervene to find an alternative owner.
Local Independent Ireland Cllr Shane P. O'Reilly told last week's meeting that work from Wellman's had “raised a lot of families, run a lot of houses”.
He suggested at the meeting that the Irish company's woes stemmed from the “culmination” of a number of factors, including he said alleged “mismanagement”.
Cllr O'Reilly pointed out how, at one stage, the Mullagh plant processed in the region of 4.5 billion bottles per annum.
“Wellman cannot be allowed to close,” he put simply, praising the leadership shown to date by the council executive and its CE Eoin Doyle in reaching out to Wellman’s management offering any assistance.
“Wellman's is more than a factory,” Cllr O'Reilly added, explaining how it had “done more” for the county than a lot of others have.
His motion to write to the Taoiseach and Tánaiste, as well as the Minister for Enterprise, was backed by fellow Ballyjamesduff MD colleague Trevor Smith, Fine Gael, whose father worked at Wellman's for 20 years.
There was support too from Sinn Féin's Noel Connell, who said that Wellman's, as an employer, was at the “heart of the community” in Mullagh and neighbouring areas too.
Fianna Fáil's Niall Smith gave his backing, as did party colleague Philip Brady who said that Cavan needed businesses like Wellman.
Clifford Kelly (FF) said it had been a “poor day” for Mullagh to see the local plant come to this, while Winston Bennett (FG) expressed hope a buyer could be found for a business he feels is highly viable.
“Anything than can be done needs to be done,” said Independent Brendan Fay, with Damien Brady (SF) and Patricia Walsh (FF) both talking up need for a “united front”.
Outgoing Cathaoirleach, Cllr T.P. O’Reilly, described as “heartbreaking” the worry and uncertainty around Wellman’s locally. He remembered back to the 1970s and 80s when, to get a job at Wellman's, was to be “made for life”.
“It kept many the community alive,” he said, urging the council to work with other stakeholders on securing a new buyer for the factory.
“This cannot be allowed to slip through the net,” asserted Cllr O'Reilly, who criticised the export of bottles from these shores under the Re-turn scheme. “I don't think that was part of the equation.”
CE of Cavan County Council Mr Doyle told the meeting he had spoken with Anthony Troy, director at Wellman International. He also held discussions with various enterprise agencies who now have an interest in sustaining the Mullagh business.
“We are continuing to keep the situation under observation,” he said.
The clock is ticking with around 12 weeks left to find a solution before the company must exit examinership. If a suitable arrangement cannot be struck, and the examinership fails, the company may be placed into receivership or liquidation.
Even if an arrangement can be made, it may still involve some level of job losses at the local plant.
The examinership process can prove fruitful. In Ireland, the success rate of companies exiting examinership is generally considered to be high, with estimates ranging from 56% to 78%.
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