The Killarney story: how Con and Anne Stack turned fibreglass water tanks into a global engineering firm

Anne and Con Stack will be inducted into the prestigious Cairde Chill Airne 'Order of Innisfallen' - the highest honour the town of Killarney can bestow. Picture: Valerie O'Sullivan

A husband and wife team from Kerry who saw their company grow from a small operation in a shed in their back garden to a multi-national enterprise that now employs over 600 people will receive the Order of Innishfallen honour in Killarney.

Start small and think big was always the motto of Con and Anne Stack, who will be recognised in their hometown in the coming weeks. Con, originally from Moyvane, initially served an apprenticeship in a knife-making factory in Germany, followed by a managerial role in a US multinational in Shannon. 

He moved to Killarney in February 1969 to take up the role as manager of Ross Products, a company that specialised in the manufacture of cardboard boxes, on Lewis Road. He soon identified a market for cutting-edge fibreglass and glass-reinforced products, with no capital required, and he operated from a shed at his home, with his Ballyduff native wife, Anne (née Leahy), by his side and playing her part.

Very soon, an opportunity arose to create a product for the then-thriving Pretty Polly factory in Killarney, and Con spotted a requirement to manufacture fibreglass water tanks to replace galvanised steel models, which were experiencing problems with rust.

Son, Michael, remembers his mother dropping the five children to school before spending the day working alongside her husband. Con left his post in Ross Products in 1980, and his company moved operations to an IDA-supported, purpose-built unit before the growth and the need became such that the current Tricel plant in the Ballyspillane Industrial Estate was developed.

The remarkable dedication shown and groundwork put in by Con and Anne Stack in the early days paid handsome dividends as Killarney Plastics became a key part of global engineering company Tricel.

Tricel develops, manufactures and distributes an extensive range of innovative products mainly across Ireland, France, Denmark and the UK, and it provides specialist services to customers in over 50 countries worldwide.

With 14 companies within the group, it currently employs 620 people, 200 of whom are based in Killarney. Con and Anne remained full-time in the business until they passed it on to their children. Now enjoying their retirement, they have four sons, Michael, Con, Richard and Robert and a daughter Graine.

The Order of Inisfallen is a civic honour – a joint initiative between Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce and Kerry County Council – that recognises those who have made exceptional contributions to the local economy and to the tourism industry.