Aramark Ireland, whose operations include Campbell Catering, has established a facilities management division and plans to recruit up to 200 new employees this year.
The Irish subsidiary of the US multinational said the facilities management division will complement its contract catering business. The group already has 400 employees assigned to the new division.
The core services being offered include cleaning, security, building fabric and mechanical and electrical maintenance.
"For most businesses, efficient facilities management services can improve quality of service and reduce business operation costs by at least 10 per cent," said Anthony Harman, head of the new division.
"In the coming months it is our intention to primarily recruit additional personnel throughout our cleaning division, with further opportunities in technical maintenance and other services." He said the move into the new area was prompted by enquiries from existing customers using Aramark's catering services.
Organisations that might avail of facility management services include hospitals, colleges and large companies, Mr Harman said. "In Ireland the facilities management industry is estimated to be worth €3 billion."
The latest accounts on file for Aramark Ireland Holdings are consolidated accounts for the year to September 30th, 2006, and they show a pre-tax profit of $1.3 million on a turnover of $187 million. The previous year the group lost $578,000 on a turnover of $103 million.
The 2006 turnover arose from catering with the bulk ($167.5 million) in the Republic, and the remainder in Britain and Northern Ireland. During that year the group employed an average of 3,224 staff, at a total cost of $85.8 million.
