Calls to save Waterford Wedgwood
World-renowned company Waterford Crystal is too important to be allowed to shut down, union leaders warned today.
The famous glass factory is up for sale after finally shattering under the weight of years of financial pressure.
Some 800 workers are clinging to the hope that a new buyer can be found who would secure all or some of the remaining jobs in the troubled operation.
Unite, the trade union which represents most of the workers at Waterford’s Kilbarry plant, vowed to work closely with prospective buyers to save the brand.
“It is too important to the workers and their families, to the City of Waterford and to the nation as a whole, to let it disappear,” said regional secretary Jimmy Kelly.
Union leaders are holding meetings with management and workers throughout the week.
“The workers who built the brand that is Waterford Crystal have always worked alongside management to find solutions that would protect the long term future of the company,” said Mr Kelly.
“Unite will fully support them in liaising with local and national politicians to save the plant and the brand.”
John Deasy, Waterford TD, called on the Government to do everything in its power to find a buyer.
“The importance of Waterford Crystal to the city and county cannot be underestimated,” he said.
“For example, the company is extremely significant for Waterford’s tourist industry, as well as to the manufacturing sector and the general local economy.”
Mr Deasy said he remained optimistic the company would be sold as a going concern.
The Kilbarry plant and the UK arm of parent company Waterford Wedgwood went into receivership after talks about a possible sale to a US private equity firm failed and lenders’ patience ran out.
Chief executive David Sculley said he was optimistic a buyer for the businesses could be found.
Media tycoon Anthony O’Reilly, who controls the group with his brother-in-law Peter John Goulandris, said: “We are consoled only by the fact that everything that could have been done, by management and by the board, to preserve the group, was done.”
The company, which at its height in the 1980s employed 3,500 high-skilled men and women at three plants in Kilbarry, Butlerstown and Dungarvan, has been shedding jobs for years.
High profile marketing campaigns with leading designers Jasper Conran, Marc Jacobs and John Rocha were brought in to help revive its fortunes.
But the global financial crisis delivered a final critical blow to the long-running rescue bid after falling sales, rising costs and the weak US dollar.
The business – which had been in talks with a private equity investor over much-needed funding – will continue to trade as a going concern while discussions continue.
O'Reilly said the board and executives had received “remarkable support” in efforts to salvage the business from highest levels from the Irish and UK governments and certain Irish banks.
“The board has acted tirelessly in its efforts to resolve the company’s issues as a going concern,” he added.
A further 1,900 jobs are at risk at the UK arm of the business, which is also renowned for its Wedgwood pottery and Royal Doulton china.
Administrator Deloitte said a restructuring of the firm could not be achieved in an acceptable timescale as trading deteriorated.
Crystal maker Waterford was set up in 1783 by brothers William and George Penrose.
Wedgwood was founded in 1759 in Stoke-on-Trent, England by Josiah Wedgwood, and began making bone china in the 19th century.
In 1986 Waterford acquired Wedgwood to form the present company, listing on the stock exchange and expanding overseas in the 1990s before buying Royal Doulton in 2005.
Waterford also employs a further 5,000 staff in the US, Germany, Canada, Australia, Indonesia and Japan unaffected by the insolvency of the Irish and UK operations.
