250 new jobs in the pipeline at timber firm

Some 250 jobs are to be created with the expansion of timber company Century Homes, it was confirmed today.

The €15m investment will expand plants in Monaghan, Longford and Dungarvon and will also create a new site in Tullamore.

It will double the number of people employed by Century Homes to 500 by the end of 2006.

Tánaiste Mary Harney described the move by the engineering and timber-frame building firm as a “genuine Irish success story“.

She said: “It is a really good example of an Irish company developing exports and explicitly underpins the link between exports and regional development.

“The new investment will effectively double the size of the company in terms of sales and output and make it the largest, most profitable timber-frame housing manufacturer in the UK and Ireland.

“The hallmark of Century Homes is innovation in design and engineering and a key focus on growing export sales.”

Century Homes was established in Monaghan in 1990 and has expanded with the help of Enterprise Ireland.

Its chief executive Gerry McCaughey said the firm aimed to double its annual output from 5,000 to 10,000 housing units.

He added: “This expansion keeps us on a path towards achieving our goal of becoming the world’s top timber-frame engineering and manufacturing company.”