Huge relief in north Meath on Iralco deal

The prospect of a purchase by Galway-based firm CF Tooling of a Co Westmeath firm employing many north Meath people and saving jobs has been welcomed by Meath West Fianna Fail TD, Johnny Brady. The CF Tooling firm is believed to be seeking about 100 redundancies out of the total workforce of 420 at Collinstown firm, Iralco, which went into liquidation last April. The Galway-based firm has conditionally agreed to purchase the business and assets of Iralco, which makes components for the motor industry. A meeting of employees was held on Sunday when John Faherty, owner of CF Tooling, addressed the workforce. Deputy Brady also was present. Workers at the Iralco plant, which manufactures car parts for some of Europe"s most popular car models - including Audi, BMW, Ford, Seat and Volvo - include many from north Meath towns and villages, such as Oldcastle, Mullagh, Ballinacree, Crossakiel, Kilskyre, Killallon and Ballinlough. The Collinstown firm employs workers, too, from Kells, which is just 20 miles from the plant. The workforce also is drawn from Co Westmeath, and parts of Cavan and Longford. Deputy Brady said that, understandably, there was concern on the part of Iralco workers last April when the firm went into liquidation. He added that as there were orders still on the books, workers believed the factory could still be a viable concern. 'This is a view that was obviously shared by CF Tooling, who now have expressed their interest in the factory,' he said. Deputy Brady said that while CF Tooling had indicated that it would need to reduce operating costs and there would be some voluntary redundancies, the agreement would safeguard the majority of jobs at the factory. Added Deputy Brady: 'This is good news for factory workers and their families. I am hopeful that the agreement will go through speedily and effectively.' The CF Tooling firm is now a player on the international stage. It has established a presence in England and recently opened a €7 million factory in southern China where it plans to manufacture server racks in a major contract with IBM.