Glennon brothers' timber firm takes industry accolade

LONGFORD BROTHERS Mike and Pat Glennon scooped the top accolade in the Industry category at this year’s Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards.

The Glennon Brothers timber processing firm, located near Longford town, was one of the longest-established firms to make this year’s shortlist, having been founded in 1913.

Pat Glennon joined the family business full-time in 1978 and was joined by his brother Mike in 1985, and by the late 1990s they had succeeded their father as joint managing directors.

Mike Glennon said he was thrilled and honoured to accept the award on behalf of a “great bunch of people” in Longford, Fermoy and Edinburgh, while his brother Pat thanked their father and mother for giving them their business acumen.

Since becoming involved in the family firm, the brothers have driven its development through a series of strategic acquisitions and organic growth.

In 1998 the firm acquired a Fermoy facility from the Smurfit Group and transformed the loss-making plant into a world-class timber processing facility after a €25 million investment.

In 2005 they expanded the group once again with the purchase of Windymains Timber based in Humbie, near Edinburgh.

This was an important step towards becoming a serious player in the forest products sector in Britain.

In 2007 the company made its first venture outside the timber processing sector with the acquisition of timber frame manufacturing firm Dempsey Timber Engineering in Arklow, Co Wicklow.

The following year saw the firm acquire one of the largest sawmills in the UK – the Troon-based family business Adam Wilson Sons.

The Glennon Brothers group directly employs about 190 employees in Ireland and 170 in Britain, as well as around 180 people indirectly through harvesting and haulage.

It supplies a large range of products to major builder merchant groups, independent merchants, pallet manufacturers, residual product manufacturers and house-builders throughout Ireland and Britain.