Timber pallet manufacturer CJ Sheeran Group has announced the opening of a new €6 million logistics and storage facility at its headquarters in Mountrath, Co. Laois.

To mark the completion of the facility, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with special responsibility for Forestry, Farm Safety and Horticulture, Niall Collins visited the 50,000 square foot facility.

The new facility, capable of storing 150,000 pallets, will provide dedicated storage for customer products, while also expanding the group’s third-party logistics services.

Recent investments at the CJ Sheeran Group Mountrath site include a new automated pallet production line, producing in excess of 10,000 pallets per week, and a new 1.75MW biomass boiler.

The site also has two new high-capacity kilns with a further two kilns planned.

Each kiln is capable of drying more than 10,000 pallets per week.

CJ Sheeran Group’s newest project has created 15 additional jobs, growing its total direct workforce to 465.

The recent investments are also expected to create further opportunities across manufacturing, engineering, logistics, warehousing, maintenance and business support functions as additional phases of development are completed.

Long-term investment  

Managing director of CJ Sheeran Mark Sheeran, who is also chair of Forest Industries Ireland, said: “The milestone investment forms the first of six major logistics and storage facilities planned as part of our long-term strategic investment plan for the site.”

Sheeran explained that this investment provides the capacity required to support automation, increased manufacturing output and the next phase of CJ Sheeran Group’s growth, including third party logistics.

He added: “As Ireland’s largest pallet manufacturer, we are proud of timber’s role in a genuine circular economy.

"Sourced from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, responsibly managed forests, pallets can be reused, repaired and remanufactured many times, extending their working life before the timber is ultimately recovered and recycled.

Sheeran added that the project demonstrates the company’s commitment to continuous investment in Co. Laois and the wider midlands region.

Mark McAuley, director of Forest Industries Ireland, said: “CJ Sheeran is a great example of how Ireland’s forests deliver large-scale employment in wood product manufacturing.

“We need to keep planting new forests to secure our future timber supply so we can deliver sustainable timber products such as pallets, crates, and fencing, while also building greener timber frame homes.”

McAuley added that Ireland’s forest sector is a great success story built on sustainable forests and “world class” timber products.

He added: “For farmers growing forestry on their land, the development signals a strong timber market, and an important opportunity to strengthen the connection between Irish forestry and domestic timber demand.”