LARGO Foods has secured 30 per cent of the Irish snack food market with the purchase of Irish Snack Foods' assets for around Pounds 1 million. Largo, which makes Perri Crisps, will re-employ 25 of the Donegal company's workforce and 22 van sales drivers.
The move will give Largo Foods a 30 per cent share of the Irish snack food market. Largo's managing director, Mr Raymond Coyle, said yesterday that Largo would continue to manufacture the full Irish Snack Food product portfolio. It includes Sam Spudz crisps.
He said the merger was a good fit for his company, which is currently undergoing a Pounds 3.5 million expansion programme. This will double the factory's capacity for manufacturing crisps.
Largo Foods has an annual turnover of Pounds 14 million and exports almost half of all it produces. It employs 200 people at its Ashbourne plant in Meath.
"Irish Snack Foods has the capacity to manufacture some of our other product lines along with their own so there is the potential for great synergy between the two companies," Mr Coyle said.
Mr Coyle said it was hoped to increase employment at Irish Snack Foods to 33 over the next 12 months. That company has been established in Bunbeg for the past 19 years.
Originally a subsidiary of Udaras na Gaeltachta, it was bought by R&J Emmet in 1989. Emmet, a subsidiary of Gilbeys, later sold it to a group of private investors.
Irish Snack Foods had been experiencing difficulties in recent times.
The company had an annual turnover of approximately Pounds 3 million and employed 60 people. It is understood that its debts were in excess of Pounds 2 million. Secured creditors are expected to be paid in full, while unsecured creditors, owed over Pounds 1.5 million, will get 20p in the pound.
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