Timber-frame firm to create 220 jobs

AROUND 220 jobs are to be created at the expanding Griffner Coillte Ltd factory at Mullingar, Co Westmeath over the next 18 months to meet the growing demand for upmarket timber -frame houses.

Thirty people are currently employed by the company, a joint venture set up in September 2002 by an Austrian specialist manufacturer and the Irish forestry company. The parent Austrian company, GriffnerHaus AG is a major supplier to the Austrian, Italian, Swiss and German markets.

Timber-framed houses account for about 20% of the 50,000 housing units built in Ireland each year. Most other timber-frame systems here use traditional masonry on top of the structural frame of the building. However, Griffner Coillte walls are fully manufactured at the factory in a carefully- controlled environment and the firm claims its product cuts energy consumption by 40-50% compared with an equivalent masonry house.

Up to 40% of the materials used in the high-specification Griffner Coillte houses is sourced from the Irish sawmilling industry, chief executive Peter Sullivan said. “Our target over the next two years is to bring that up to a total of 80%,” he added.

The Irish landscape won’t be mistaken for Austria, according to Mr Sullivan: “We’re making modifications to the Austrian design to make them compatible with the Irish architectural environment.

“We’ve allied ourselves to a number of leading architect firms and have been working with them to develop designs from scratch that are going to reflect the range of traditional Irish architectural designs,” he said.

Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Minister Dermot Ahern, who announced the firm’s expansion, said: “This is a significant joint initiative between a State company in partnership with a cutting-edge European leader in providing timber buildings.

“It is a new era in the development of efficient and innovative construction. They see significant opportunities in the Irish market where people are increasingly considering the alternative of timber frame homes.”

Mr Ahern added: “Sustainable, energy-efficient housing plays an important role in meeting the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.

Griffner Coillte began designing and marketing in Ireland late last year.

Among the projects completed to date are houses in Galway and Dublin while projects underway include Coillte offices in Newtownmount- kennedy, Co Wicklow designed by TV About the House architect Duncan Stewart and further homes in Cork, Tipperary and Galway.