Shock as big factory in Birr announces closure
There was shock last week in Birr when employees of Milne Foods Ltd in Syngefield Industrial Estate were told that the factory will be closing for good, most probably sometime in April.
Milne Foods is a large factory and a significant employer. Its shutting down will be a big blow for the town.
For 20 years the company has been operating in a 55,000 square foot vegetable processing plant, where the employees prepare potatoes, fruit and vegetables for sale.
“We supply fresh and prepared Fruit & Vegetable Produce,” the company states in its promotional material, “to the catering, manufacturing, wholesale and retail industry with a comprehensive list of produce.”
The company runs an in-house logistics fleet which offers a nationwide temperature controlled delivery from the central midlands location.
It's a family owned business which has over 30 years experience in the manufacturing industry and 60 years in the wholesale Fruit and Vegetable industry.
Milnes Foods processes 300 tons plus of fresh produce per week, with a plant capacity of 600 tons plus.
Owner of the company Pat Milne, and Director Declan Milne, said they are devastated to be closing the factory's doors.
Speaking to The Midland Tribune, Declan said there are 60 employees in the company.
"On Monday January 30th we told the staff," he said, "that we had no other option but to close down, and would be entering a thirty day consultation period. Over the last few years our business has been really struggling. We supply freshly prepared food not to supermarkets but to the food service sector, including hotels, restaurants, manufacturing companies and hospitals, but the demand from the food service sector for our products is not as strong as it would need to be.
"We are extremely sad about this. We are devastated. Milne Foods has been part of the community for so long. We were based on Barrack St Crinkle for many years. In 1992, in the Barrack Street premises, we branched out into preparing food for the manufacturing industry and the hospitality sector. In 2003 we moved to our Syngefield factory."
Declan said 40 of the 60 staff have been with the company for twenty to twenty-eight years. "They are excellent, loyal staff and we feel deeply for them. We are doing what we can to help them during this time."
He said the last few years have been "a perfect storm" of events which struck a fatal blow to the company. "The pandemic was tough for our business but we would have survived, but then along came rising costs, and rising energy costs. Our electricity bills have tripled.
"We were keeping a close eye on the figures and realised we couldn't sustain the factory anymore."
Declan added that the company will start winding down its operations in March and will close its doors for the final time at the end of April.
Cllr Peter Ormond told the Midland Tribune that he was very disappointed to hear the news. The general consensus in the public's mind is that Birr is not a town which can absorb blows of this nature.