Mayor expects C and D pet factory to reopen

The Longford County Mayor Frank Kilbride said tonight he expected the C and D pet food factory to be fully up and running within two years.

The future of the 500 jobs at the factory in Edgeworthstown has been in doubt since last Sunday’s devastating fire, but SIPTU now expects up to 120 workers to be re-employed within two weeks.

Mr Kilbride said he understood that C and D Foods intended to go into full production again as soon as possible.

“I’m being told by reliable sources that they’re hoping that they will have the whole plant up and running within two years,” he said.

Mr Kilbride, who is a Fine Gael councillor, said it would take up to a year to order some of the specialist machinery needed for the plant.

He said that while he was delighted that up to 150 staff would be employed in the cannery section of the factory, there would still be 350 staff left without jobs for a long period.

“When someone is getting an average wage of 400 euro, next week they’re looking at 158 euro on the dole. Where they’re going to find alternative employment doesn’t seem great in this area anyway, or indeed in the county,” he said.

“But a glimmer of hope has arrived this evening.”

SIPTU Longford Representative Seamus McNamee said it had been advised by C and D foods that there would a limited reopening of facilities within two to three weeks, pending discussions with their customers.

“Areas of the plant had minimal damage, smoke damage mostly, and they would expect to get that up-and-running,” he said.

The company produced 160 million cans of pet food last year, generating sales of around €100m, but its existing stocks are expected to run out in less than a fortnight. The workers will resume operations at the soft can section of the plant which was not destroyed by the fire.

“The number (of workers returning to work) will depend totally on what arrangements they can reach with their customers and those talks and discussions are ongoing between the management of C&D and their customers.”,” Mr McNamee told RTE radio.

At a special two-hour meeting of Longford County Council yesterday, members voted to defer the collection of rent and housing loan repayments from C and D workers for the immediate future.

Mr Kilbride said the move was expected to assist up to 100 members of the C and D workforce and added that the council has also appointed its director of services as a liaison officer to the factory.

C and D Foods was established by former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds in 1969 and currently has contracts to supply major British supermarket chains including Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury,

Mr Reynold’s son Philip, who now manages and owns C&D Pet Foods plant, is due to address the workforce about the future of the plant tomorrow.