House firm to create 150 jobs in Tullamore

Century Homes, the Monaghan- based timber-housing specialist, is to create 150 jobs in a €5 million investment in Tullamore, Co Offaly.

Details of the development are expected to be announced at a press conference tomorrow morning by the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, along with the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Mr Tom Parlon.

It is understood that details of other investments to be undertaken by Century Homes at a number of regional locations will also be announced.

The jobs boost has been welcomed by Tullamore Chamber of Commerce, which described the news as "positive".

Tullamore has been hit by a number of high-profile job losses in the past few years, including the closure of Lowe Alpine in 2001 with the loss of 220 jobs and 370 redundancies at Flextronics last year.

Century Homes is the largest timber-frame manufacturer in Ireland and Britain, and is a market leader in timber-frame technology.

The company, founded more than 40 years ago, has been involved in many different building projects ranging from hospitals to large-scale housing developments, apartments and multistorey hotel projects.

The largest shareholders are Mr Brian McCaughey, Mr Gerard McCaughey and Mr James McBride.

The most recent set of accounts filed in the Companies Office show that Century Homes made a pre-tax profit of €724,639 in the year to the end of December 2001. A dividend of €36,188 was paid, while the five directors shared €213,318 in remuneration. Sales in that year were more than €28 million. The accounts also show the company had net assets of €8.3 million.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, whose home base is in Tullamore, said the development was "very good news for the town and its environs".

"The decision to locate in the town is just the boost we need and it will be welcomed by all concerned," added Mr Cowen.

Tullamore, along with Mullingar and Athlone, has been earmarked for major growth following its designation as a "gateway" in the recently published National Spatial Strategy.

Construction work is proceeding, ahead of schedule, on a €150 million regional hospital. A number of major retail developments are also in the planning stages.