Watch: Buckets to calf feeders as JFC launches new facility
JFC Group, which includes JFC Agri, marked a €25 million expansion plan for the company with a special mass and celebration for staff and families as it formally launched a new facility at its headquarters in Tuam, Co. Galway in recent days.
The five-year plan is about half way complete with between €10-12 million already spent, particularly in research and development (R&D) and a 110,000ft² building.
The company was founded by Kilconly, Tuam man, John Concannon in 1987, along with his wife Patricia, brother Colm, and business partner Brendan Morrin.
Concannon got a big break when his calf bucket featured on the ‘Late Late Show’ on RTÉ television, hosted by Gay Byrne 1987.
It continues to be a family affair today, with most of John’s family involved in various aspects of the business.
It has grown from a small business, manufacturing plastic multi-buckets in 1987, to now being a plastic engineering, recycling technology and innovative agri, construction, marine and hospitality equipment provider, employing more than 650 people worldwide.
160 of these staff work at the Tuam facility, while the company also operates two factories in the UK, one in Poland and one in The Netherlands.
He explained that his mother was a source of strength for him while attending school, where he was “beat up” and she had a big influence in showing him that there was no substitute for hard work.
JFC expansion
Agriland went along to the JFC site in Tuam, Co. Galway to chat to John Concannon and garner an insight into the massive operations the company now has both in Ireland and internationally.
Check out the video from the launch below.
Credit: Agriland
During his speech to the gathering in Tuam, Concannon said that “the last few years have been building for the future”.
“The factory is a statement of commitment to Tuam and the west of Ireland. JFC did not invest in China or India where wages are a fraction of what they are here. We have pitched our investment in the local parish area,” he added.
He explained that the group has also heavily invested in Europe with many acquisitions in its 37-year history.
Other markets which JFC Group has ventured into include civils, such as plastic piping and marine, where the company produces navigation buoys and aquaculture equipment.
But it has stayed true to its agricultural roots, expanding from triple buckets in 1987 to a wide array of farming products today, such as calf feeders, water troughs, calf-rearing equipment, feeders, drinkers and hygiene and safety items.
Many ideas for agri-products came from Concannon’s own experience on his own farm, where he saw the challenges or areas where a new product might alleviate some pressure for the farmer.
Concannon admits that the company, like most others, has had challenges over the years, none less so than the impact of Brexit.
Brexit was a “disaster”, Concannon said. “Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. People were led up the garden path; they didn’t know what they were getting into, I think the majority of people in the UK today realise that now,” he added.
The businessman explained that Ireland, the UK and Europe are the company’s most prominent markets, but the marine side of the business has also opened up many new markets around the world.
The celebration held last weekend at the new facility was marked by mass and a blessing of the new building, similar to the mass held when the company first opened in the 1980s.
It was followed by a celebration of food and refreshments for staff and their families.
While almost half of the €25 million expansion is now complete, the remainder will be completed over the next two years or so and will include a new design office.
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