Killarney's Tricel acquires third international firm

Engineering firm's expansion continues into new markets

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Mike Stack, CEO of the Tricel Group, pictured in February when the firm completed Ireland's largest combined solar and heat pump installation at its facility in Killarney. Picture: Don MacMonagle

Killarney engineering firm, Tricel, has acquired another international company as it continues to expand its global market reach.

The company has acquired Danish firm BioKube, a company that manufactures wastewater treatment systems and primarily operates across European markets in Ireland, the UK, France, Germany, and Belgium. 

Tricel has also acquired two other international businesses in recent months including French firm, AJ Environnement.

Biokube will continue to operate as a standalone business but Tricel said the acquisition will allow it to expand into new product and geographic markets. 

Tricel said it plans to invest in Biokube, expanding its distribution and adding new customers.

"As with all our acquisitions, we are delighted to have found another European Union-based business of Biokube’s quality and capability," Tricel CEO Mike Stack said. 

We intend to protect and nurture the excellent business built and continue supporting it throughout the next phase of its ambitious international expansion plan.

BioKube's founder Peter Tårnhøj said Tricel already promoted the best of Danish engineering by bringing Biokube to new international markets.

"We are delighted to have found our ideal partner and future custodian of our business in Tricel. We are confident that this will be a great partnership," he said.

Tricel is a family-run business started in 1973 by Anne and Con Stack out of a small lane in Killarney. The company initially produced products from glass-reinforced plastics (GRP) for the local community. 

Through significant growth throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the company expanded its exports, followed by several successful acquisitions to establish manufacturing facilities throughout the UK and Europe.

Still led by the Stack family it comprises 12 companies across Europe, with six manufacturing operations. 

It employs more than 600 people supplying a range of products including storage tanks, pumps, sewage treatment tanks, construction products, and lubricants.

In February the company said it would double the size of its operations in France with plans to add 60 new jobs.