Over 420 jobs feared lost as liquidators appointed to firm

ONE OF the biggest employers in the midlands has gone into liquidation with feared losses of more than 420 jobs.

Iralco makes trim for the automotive industry and is based in Collinstown, Co Westmeath. Yesterday the company blamed the high cost of doing business in Ireland for the decision to wind up the company.

Workers at the plant were informed yesterday at lunchtime that two liquidators, John McStay and Tom Rogers, had been appointed by the High Court to wind up the company.

The firm's gates were shut at 2pm yesterday and it is not clear if or when they will reopen.

Iralco is one of the longest-established manufacturers in Ireland and was set up in 1964 by Franz Pohl, a German entrepreneur. At one stage it employed 900 people and its customers are some of Europe's best-known car manufacturers, including Audi, BMW, Ford, Seat, Volvo and Jaguar.

Westmeath county manager Danny McLoughlin, who spoke to the liquidator yesterday, said the effect on the northwest part of the county and the neighbouring counties of Cavan, Longford and Meath could be "devastating", as the company provided wages of €8 million in a catchment area with few other sources of employment.

He told RTÉ News that the owners had reached the "point of no return" and the only viable option was to continue manufacturing to allow an alternative investor to save the manufacturing plant. "It is critical that the company is sold as a going concern," he said.

In a statement Iralco's board of directors said the company had been in financial trouble for some time. It had struggled in recent years to pay wage increases under the Sustaining Progress national agreement and its successor Towards 2016.

"The company operates in a highly competitive global market and it had been struggling for some time to overcome the increasing costs associated with manufacturing in Ireland," management said. "This high cost base combined with relentless price reductions from customers became unsustainable."

A meeting will take place this morning between union shop stewards, management and the liquidator to see if the company can continue to operate as a going concern.

ATGWU-Unite shop steward Andrew Elder, who has worked at Iralco for 10 years, said he was confident that some jobs could be salvaged by the liquidator.

"We would be hopeful that some survival plan can come out of that and we would look to ballot the workforce on the survival plan," he explained.

"Even if closure is imminent, there will be a four- to six-month run of production to satisfy existing customers.

"If the liquidator can secure an investor in that time and if the customer wishes Iralco to continue to produce car trim for them, a complete restructuring will take place. We won't start with a blank canvas, but things will certainly be different," he said.

Fine Gael labour affairs spokesman Damien English said the fate of Iralco demonstrated the failure of the Government to keep labour costs under control.