Industrial disasters such as the closure of the Asahi plant in Co Mayo elicit a predictable response from politicians and development agencies. Invariably they launch a search for another large project to replace the lost jobs. Occasionally, this can produce the right result, but it frequently happens that finding a suitable replacement takes some time, during which the local economy has to make do with incomes at social welfare level rather than the fat pay packets of workers in a healthy company.
A model for a viable alternative to the big project philosophy, however, can be found on the banks of the river Liffey in Lucan on Dublin's west-side. Here, an old woollen mill that had lain derelict for six years has been renovated, partly rebuilt, and refurbished to a high standard as small business accommodation.
In the space of five years, it has gone from zero to an employment of some 300 people, and is currently fully let to a varied assortment of young firms in such areas as computing, fitted kitchens, engineering, clothing, electronics and others. A success story by any standard, but what is probably most remarkable is that it has been achieved largely without - and in some respects in spite of - intervention by State or local authority agencies. Most of the jobs came on stream at a rapid rate and at little or no cost to the State, unlike the high profile international projects which must be won in the face of tough overseas competition.
The main moving force behind the project is Paddy Musgrave, an engineer by profession who for many years has run Irish Electrical Rewind Ltd, an electric motor company. Some years ago he called on the services of John O'Neill, a former Coras Trachtala regional manager, to assess whether Electrical Rewind had any export potential worth developing. When Mr O'Neill's researches indicated none such existed, Mr Musgrave began casting around for other diversification options. In 1988 he took a punt on what was then the near derelict woollen mill in Lucan.
The property was acquired by Munslow Ltd, a private company controlled by Mr Musgrave. The first letting was to the film production company behind the Mel Gibson movie, Braveheart, which took up every inch of the site as storage space for props and equipment. This was all very fine until the seven-month lease ran out and the mill once again found itself utterly vacant and non-earning. It was at that stage that a decision was taken to tailor the site for multi-tenant small firm lettings, to ensure a constant rental income stream.
The renovation programme embarked upon involved refurbishing the buildings, some of which dated back to the early 19th century, with some rebuilding and the addition of extra space. Lettings ranged in size from `incubator' units of just 1,000 sq ft to 5,000 sq ft premises, both to accommodate different needs, and to allow the more successful small firms to grow in size without having to leave the estate.
Finding tenants proved relatively easy, says Mr O'Neill. The marketing of the units was conducted through intermediaries such as auctioneers, while direct advertising by the promoters brought in more business. The woollen mill, on the banks of the Liffey behind a suburban village in west Dublin, is not the most obvious location for a successful industrial park. Set against the relatively undeveloped backdrop of the Strawberry Beds, the general impression of the place when viewed from a distance is peaceful, pastoral and scenic.
But Lucan is ideally placed in terms of access to major routes. The mill lies one mile from the main dual carriageway to Galway, and just a few miles from the M50 motorway, which in turn offers quick access to both the north and south of the country, as well as the airport and ports. For people living on the west side of the city, the location also meant the elimination of tedious and time consuming commuting to the city centre.
In the final analysis, the site could probably have been filled even faster than it has been, but not every application was accepted. Munslow was keen on as broad a mix of activities as possible, to ensure that the mill was not exposed to the cyclical factors besetting any one sector, and as an insurance against corporate failure among tenants - losing a couple of small tenants is a disappointment, losing two very large ones would be a disaster. Beyond that general consideration of size, however, no preference existed as to manufacturing or services firms as tenants.
The Hills Industrial Estate, to give the site its proper title, now houses 29 businesses in 40 units, all fully let, and the range of activities carried on within its precincts could hardly be more eclectic: computer software, energy management controls, packaging machinery, printing, food ingredients, organic foods and furniture manufacture are all represented, while a portion of the site has been acquired by Stewart's Hospital for arts and crafts training by its rehabilitation unit.
The success of the venture, says John O'Neill, should be instructive to policy makers at the level of State agencies and government departments, in that it demonstrates the ability of the private sector to reinvigorate redundant assets, generating direct employment and downstream economic benefit in the process. In an ideal world, every urban centre in the country would have its own Hills Industrial Estate.
