Glennon Brothers welcome Minister McEntee to Fermoy
07/11/2011
Timber processing firm, Glennon Brothers, welcomed the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with special responsibility for Forestry, Shane McEntee, to its Fermoy plant.
During his visit, the Minister met with Glennon Brothers joint managing directors Mike and Pat Glennon and took part in an extensive mill tour. The visit aimed to highlight the importance of a continuous log supply to the sawmilling sector in light of the shortage of logs in the Irish market. Glennon Brothers also stressed the importance of flexibility in the harvesting and haulage log supply chain, with Glennon Brothers actively servicing four export markets, in addition to the home market.
Pat Glennon, joint managing director, Glennon Brothers, said: “We were delighted to welcome Minister Shane McEntee to our plant in Fermoy. The minister is a key player in the Irish forestry industry, and we are looking forward to working with him and his department in the development of the Irish sawmilling sector and increasing sales to export markets.”
“We currently employ over 500 people, of which 330 are employed directly and 170 indirectly, contributing in excess of 30 million euros per year into the Irish economy. Glennon Brothers success in developing new export markets is a testament to a hard working, dedicated, team of people.”
The Minister acknowledged the importance of the sawmill sector and said: “The Irish sawmilling industry is a vital element of the forestry sector as it purchases the timber from our forests, and through innovation and marketing, is continuing to service and expand markets abroad for Irish forest products.”.
Concluding his visit, Minister McEntee commented, “I thank Glennon Brothers for giving me this opportunity to visit their plant here in Fermoy and to see the processes involved in the production of quality forest products. Their commitment to quality and the development of their business was evident from their success in the Ernst and Young Entreprenuer of the Year Awards in 2010. The ongoing efforts of Glennon Brothers and other sawmills to develop new products and markets are real evidence of the role the forestry sector plays in our economy through employment and exports.”
From their roots operating a single water-powered sawmill in County Longford nearly 100 years ago, three generations of Glennon Brothers have steadily developed a customer-focused business committed to the responsible manufacture of quality timber products.
Glennon Brothers is now the premier name in the Irish and UK timber processing industry. Through its plants in Ireland and Scotland, the firm offers a one-stop-shop solution, supplying both the Irish and UK markets with products for the construction, pallet wood and fencing industries. This one-stop-shop approach ensures the firm continues to push the boundaries of machinery and technology to produce home grown timber to the highest international standards.
The Glennon Brothers Group is also a leading provider of quality timber frame homes and engineered roof trusses in the UK and Ireland through Alexander Timber Design based in Troon, and Dempsey Timber Engineering (DTE) based in Arklow.
The Group is committed to reducing its impact on the environment and has gained Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for its products across all timber processing sites that they are sourced from sustainably managed forests.