Enterprise Ireland
Annual Report and Accounts 2006
Annual Report and Accounts 2006
Co Cavan based Foamalite, 2006 winner of the IEA's Emerging Markets Exporter Award, is scaling up for further growth with an €11 million investment, supported by Enterprise Ireland.
Foamalite is hailed as a prime example of a regionally-based company competitively manufacturing innovative high-value products for the export market.
The family-owned company is now facing a period of sustained growth due to previous success in establishing a steady export market.
The Loch Gowna company, exporting to more than 20 different countries, manufactures various extruded PVC foam sheets for customers in areas such as signage, advertising, construction, exhibitions and screen printing.
Foamalite sells 95 per cent of its output overseas via a network of distributors in Britain, France, Germany, Spain and several other countries. The company also has markets in the US, Turkey, Russia and Poland and is planning further expansion in Europe.
The €11 million investment announced in November 2006 is enabling a significant scaling up of the company's production capacity in Loch Gowna, with a new 3,200sq m purpose-built factory due to have its first product off the line in summer 2007. The investment includes the development of a dedicated R&D facility and the creation of 26 new jobs, including five high-value R&D roles, over the next three years.
Having grown in recent years to become a scaling client, Foamalite will be working closely with Enterprise Ireland to focus on fast-tracking further expansion and growth in overseas markets. Managing Director Christine Reilly, who established Foamalite in 1997 with her husband John, says this means the emphasis over the next few years will be on diversifying and expanding product lines, and investing heavily in R&D.
Reilly says:
"To achieve our goals, we needed to invest heavily in a new plant, machinery, R&D and people. The time was right for committing to further growth. We have grown turnover year on year since our inception, and would be very confident that we'll meet all numbers and targets for growth over the next three years.
The success of Foamalite did not happen overnight. Although we have achieved a lot in a short time it took a lot of hard work to get here, including a very skilled and dedicated local workforce.
We are proud that as an indigenous company we continue to manufacture an excellent quality product that competes internationally."
www.foamalite.ie (link opens in a new browser window)
