A year on from their 35th anniversary celebrations, Europe's largest producer of high quality polyester staple fibers, Wellman International Ltd, is continuing to lead the way as a significant supplier to the European non-wovens market from their Mullagh base. Since Wellman International Limited began production of polyester staple fibers at their Mullagh factory in 1973, the company has earned a strong reputation for technical innovation and product performance. Operations Director, Frank Gleeson, who has worked for the company for 36 years can reflect on an industry that has evolved over the period and adapted to the challenges. "We have constantly been reinventing ourselves, expanding capacity over the years, providing stable employment and representing an important part of the community. We are appreciative of the help and encouragement many of the local people have given us," he explained. Many Cavan clubs are represented in the Wellman workforce. Past Cavan football greats Damian O' Reilly and Joe Dillon alongside prominent referees Noel McEnroe and Paddy Carroll have been employed for thirty years and more. Presently, many Cavan club administrators work at Wellman including Richard Leddy (Chairman of Cuchullains), Noel McEnroe (Chairman of Munterconnaught), Eugene Sheridan (Munterconnaught PRO) Joe Hanley and Michael Clarke (Maghera), Oliver McInerney (Redhills), Tommy Smith (Selector with Cavan Gaels), Conal O'Connell (Ramor Utd), Joe Reilly (Baileborough), Seamus Delaney (Killinkere) and JJ Smith (Shercock), all leading contributors to the running of their club's activities. All in all, not only is Wellman a leader in the provision of high quality polyester products but we also employ the "cream of the crop" from the local GAA fraternity in Cavan. In 2008, Wellman International Ltd., the largest producer of high quality polyester staple fibers (PSF) produced primarily from recycled material, undertook a leading-edge 'green' Research and Development initiative to develop its high value specialty business and move its operation higher up the value chain. The company identified the personal care and personal hygiene sector as an area of strong growth, with end users seeking increasing product innovation. The investment was supported by Government through IDA Ireland. Simply known as 'Wellman's', the company was first established in Cavan in 1973 and has a highly skilled workforce of approximately 270 people. The R&D investment focuses on the development of new purpose-built fibers, with technically superior properties, for the personal care and personal hygiene industry using recycled material. It also involves development of a new extrusion process for manufacture of the new fibers, investigation of alternative sources of polyester waste as raw material and its associated carbon footprint. To mark the company's 35th anniversary last year, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Mary Coughlan, visited the plant to announce the new R&D support for the Cavan plant. Just settling into her new role as Tánaiste, Coughlan described Wellman's as "a highly innovative company" that remained ahead of the competition. "The Wellman Company in Ireland is a pioneer in the environmental industry. It has been recycling since the 1970's and built its business on this industry decades before 'recycling' was in vogue and became a major business," said the Tánaiste. "Wellman is involved in using recycled material as a raw material and is regarded as a highly innovative company in this area, manufacturing such products as anti-bacterial and anti-dustmite materials for use in home furnishing. Wellman must also be acknowledged for the tremendous contribution it has made to the local economy over its 35 years in Cavan. "The company's long history of growth and development to remain ahead of the competition and at the cutting edge is further demonstrated with this new R&D investment today. It is also very much in keeping with the Government and IDA's strategy to establish Ireland as a leading location worldwide for 'green' and 'clean technology' business," Coughlan concluded. Frank Gleeson considers the support for the project as critical. "The project is for the development of products specifically designed to raise the performance of structures in personal care and personal hygiene products," he stated. "Although currently a major supplier to the hygiene sector, the work will re-enforce Wellman as a leader in the field of custom designed fibers, allowing for further diversification and positioning the company as the principal provider in the European market. "The support of the project enhances the facilities available to the R&D team and further develops the capability of the Cavan operation to deliver innovative designs incorporating sustainable material." Wellman's Cavan facility manufactures PSF using post consumer PET (thermoplastic) bottles collected and processed at its subsidiary recycling plants in France and the Netherlands. The recycled material is converted to PSF at the Cavan facility for a wide range of uses - filling for quilts and pillows, use in household carpets, car carpets, boot liners and door trim; waddings in furniture, cushions; technical and industrial uses (filters and abrasives); and in hygiene products, such as baby diapers. The history of this Cavan facility may date back as far as almost 40 years, originally a subsidiary of Wellman Inc. of the US, a leading manufacturer of plastic packaging, fibers and engineering resins, the company was sold in July 2007 to Aurelius AG, a German equity company, based in Munich. Aurelius AG is an industrial holding group which is focussed on the acquisition of mid-sized companies and corporate spin-offs. Its investment portfolio comprises of a variety of companies in the telecommunications, mail order, construction/automation, packaging and logistics businesses. Aurelius was established in 2005 and is traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It reported sales of 305 million euro, with net income of 48.2 million euro for 2007. Integrated into the local community, Wellman have provided support to many local activities. In 2006, Wellman provided such support to the local GAA club, Cuchullains, for the development of the grounds at Cross and the refurbishment of the facilities at Mullagh. These contributions to the improvement of local activities appear to haved delivered dividends as can be seen in the current success of the club. An intermediate championship triumph in '05 has been backed up with maintaining complete senior status in the county's top division. Last year saw Fintan Cahill take the reins as senior manager of Cuchullains with a very positive effect by 2008's conclusion, reaching the senior league and finishing only second to the seemingly immovable Cavan Gaels. Now, as another year takes shape you can be sure to expect more of the same from Cuchullains GFC and Wellman International Ltd. Tweet

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