Several companies have expressed an interest in acquiring the packaging and labels manufacturer, John Cleland Group, after the firm went into receivership yesterday.
A spokesman for receiver Arthur Andersen said he could not comment on the identity of the interested parties or the likely selling price for the firm. However, he said it was "good news" for the future of the firm and employment in Northern Ireland.
He said the receivers would continue to run the company as a going concern while negotiations continued regarding the sale of the group. However, the loss of 30 jobs at the firm's packaging plant in Carryduff, announced last Friday, would not be reversed, he added.
Around 130 people are employed at the company's operation in Carryduff, south of Belfast, with another 25 at its plant in Portadown. There are no plans to cut jobs at this latter site.
The group, which supplies cartons and adhesive labels to a number of high street retailers, including Marks & Spencer, Boots, and Sainsbury's, was formed in March 1996 following a management buy-out negotiated with the previous owners, the Dublin-based IWP International, for £16 million sterling (€25.84 million).
The following year, the company invested £4.3 million in a project aimed at establishing the company as one of the leading packaging manufacturers in the UK within five years. The project was backed by grant aid from the Industrial Development Board and the money was spent on new computer equipment and a high-specification printing press.
But over the past two years, Cleland has struggled to maintain profitability in a highly competitive market. After the announcement of a number of redundancies last year, the workers passed a vote of no-confidence in management.
The announcement of John Cleland's receivership comes after a series of disappointments for the Northern Irish textile industry. Within the past fortnight, Lamont Textiles and Hawkesbay announced 265 and 160 job losses respectively.
Speaking in the Northern Ireland Assembly yesterday, the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, Sir Reg Empey, said textile firms must develop innovative products if they were to fend off global competition and avoid further job losses.
"The impact of competition from low-cost economies and the strength of sterling present a formidable challenge to our textiles and clothing industry," he added.
SDLP enterprise spokesman Dr Alisdair McDonnell MLA said yesterday that Carryduff could not afford to lose 130 jobs. He desperately hoped a buyer could be found to take Cleland on.
"John Cleland & Co received a large financial package from the IDB in 1997. If the company is forced into liquidation, we will all lose our stake in the investment," he added.
