Wicklow job losses as Rennicks sells signs business to UK rival

The road signs business of Rennicks, formerly owned by Sir Anthony O'Reilly's Fitzwilton, has been acquired by UK group Morelock.

Morelock has agreed to assimilate the sales and marketing elements of the Irish business but the Irish manufacturing operation will close.

That will means the loss of 13 jobs at the group’s operation in Kilbride, Co Wicklow. The remaining 18 non-manufacturing staff will transfer to Morelock.

In a statement, Rennicks said the business models of both companies was “identical” but that the volume scale of the British market and its acquisition of the business in Ireland affords Morelock cost and manufacturing synergies.

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Decline in demand

"For the past five years, we have seen a decline in the demand for domestic traffic sign production as the pace of developing new motorways has dramatically reduced," said Rennicks managing director Michael Flanagan.

He said that more than 85 per cent of the turnover of the Rennicks Group was outside Ireland, especially in the United Kingdom and South Africa.

“Morelock Signs is one of our longstanding and respected UK customers and the largest manufacturer and installer of traffic signs in the UK,” he said. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.