The Canadian-owned Klopman textile manufacturing plant in Tralee, Co Kerry, which is to close in October with the loss of 141 jobs, has incurred accumulated losses of £12.7 million since 1989, the company disclosed yesterday.
Montreal-based Dominion Textiles, which acquired Klopman International in 1989, yesterday confirmed it is to close the Tralee facility from the end of October.
The Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Employment and Trade, Ms Harney, has set up a special inter-agency group, chaired by the IDA Ireland area director, Mr Paddy Gallagher, to respond to the needs of the Klopman workers and seek further job creation in Tralee. The group will comprise representatives of Shannon Development, FAS, IDA Ireland, Kerry County Council, Tralee UDC, and the County Enterprise Board.
Unemployment in the greater Tralee area now stands at 4,104 with the figure for the whole of Kerry being 8,742. The president of Klopman International, Mr Giuseppe Rodino, said the company had not taken the decision lightly or without exploring every possible option.
"World-wide market trends highlight the dramatic reduction in greige [undyed and unfinished] fabric manufacturing in Europe. The company has to increase its sourcing of greige fabric from low-cost countries to remain competitive. The crux of this problem for the Tralee plant is the lack of viable product," said Mr Rodino.
It is understood that Klopman will source Tralee's output of the five-and-a-half million yards of greige fabric in India.
The director of operations at the plant, Mr Joe Barry, said management and employees had worked very hard to try and make it competitive but the gap between costs at Tralee and low-cost countries continued to expand.
