At a press conference today (14th June) at Shannon Foynes Port, CPL Industries announced its plans to build a new state of the art bio-fuel plant at the Port of Foynes that will create 142 jobs. CPL Industries is a UK based company that is Europe’s leading manufacturer and wholesaler of smokeless solid fuel products for the domestic heating market.
The plant will initially have a capacity of c200,000 tonnes of briquette production but will be designed with the potential to expand to over 300,000 tonnes should this be supported by market development.
CPL has been manufacturing smokeless fuels since the 1940’s and is regarded as the leader in this technology area. CPL Fuels Ireland entered the Irish solid fuel market in 2011, establishing a nationwide marketing and distribution network, and an operations facility in Foynes Port. The Board of CPL Industries have, as a result of the recent announcement by Minister Hogan of a future ban on the sale of smoky coal, agreed to proceed with a proposal to invest some €20 million in the creation of a new bio-fuel plant, subject to planning and the suitable implementation of the proposed ban and appropriate government support for bio-fuels.
The plant will employ approximately 100 people when fully operational, with 42 additional people in sales, distribution and plant maintenance while 150 people will be employed in the construction of this new facility. The company hopes to have the plant operational by 2015. The plant will also have a need for approximately 80,000 tonnes of biomass when in full production and initial discussions have commenced with growers about how this need can be met, by developing biomass production over the next few years in Ireland.
Minister Michael Noonan stated “ I want to welcome CPL to Foynes and join with my colleague Phil Hogan in congratulating the company on this wonderful announcement for Foynes and for Limerick. The port of Shannon Foynes is a strategic asset for the county and the region. It enjoys a well deserved reputation as being the premier deep water port in Ireland. I understandort Company “We at Shannon Foynes Port Company are delighted to welcome CPL Industries. This company has a track record back to 1730 and is the premier producer of smokeless fuels in Europe. The company has a long track record dating back to the 1940s in the manufacture of these fuels. We are delighted that they made the decision to invest here. We are keenly aware that they had a number of alternatives on the table but that the strengths of the offering here in terms of having portside available space and a deep and efficient port won them over. We look forward to working closely with the company to deliver a successful project.
