70 New Jobs at Pauwels Trafo, R&D investments for Wellman International Ltd and for Microsol Ltd

 “This is a great day for business in Cavan. Pauwels Trafo is an excellent company and today’s investment further positions it at ‘centre stage’ in the global operations of its parent Group. Pauwels has a strong reputation in its industry and has consistently grown and has remained competitive over its 30 successful years in Cavan.” 

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan

24/10/2008

IDA

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan TD today (Friday 24th October 2008) announced two new investments for Cavan - 

• Pauwels Trafo Ireland Ltd. (PTI) in Cavan Town is to create 70 new high quality jobs over two years in a €12 million investment for the substantial expansion of its manufacturing facility into higher value products and new markets.

• Wellman International Ltd., which is celebrating its 35th anniversary at Mullagh, Co. Cavan, is to undertake a leading-edge ‘green’ Research and Development initiative to develop its high value speciality business and move its operation higher up the value chain.

In addition, the Tánaiste announced a new R&D investment by Microsol Ltd., in Dublin, which is a sister company of Pauwels Trafo.
The investments are supported by Government through IDA Ireland.

Pauwels Trafo and Microsol
Pauwels Trafo, a provider of distribution and wind transformers for western European markets, was established in Cavan in 1978 and employs 374 people. This investment will enable it to capitalise on the global growth in energy infrastructure, particularly the ‘green’ energy of wind power. Pauwels, with 35% market share, is the major supplier to the European wind turbine manufacturers.

Pauwels Trafo Ireland is a subsidiary of Pauwels International NV, of Belgium, one of the world’s top ten manufacturers of three-phase transformers, which is owned by Crompton Greaves Ltd. (CG), one of India’s largest private sector enterprises. PTI is well positioned in the Pauwels group as one of two European manufacturing plants for the growing distribution market. It is the only plant with the capability to offer the full range of distribution transformers.

The Tánaiste said “This is a great day for business in Cavan. Pauwels Trafo is an excellent company and today’s investment further positions it at ‘centre stage’ in the global operations of its parent Group. Pauwels has a strong reputation in its industry and has consistently grown and has remained competitive over its 30 successful years in Cavan. It is a reliable and desirable employer in the region and its contribution to the locality is well known and highly regarded. These further 70 news jobs to be created will be welcome news to Cavan town. ”

Microsol Ltd, another subsidiary of Crompton Greaves, is undertaking a separate R&D investment at its Dublin operation for a significant new product for the parent Group. Microsol supplies state-of-the-art information and control technology and services to power utility companies to manage and optimise their transmission and distribution electricity networks. It was established in Dublin in 1989 and employs 45 people worldwide. The new R&D is for the development of a Bay Control Unit, which is an electronic control and monitoring instrument for use in electricity substations. Building this Unit will incorporate the latest technology and emerging new standards, and focused on new electricity substation builds.

The Tánaiste continued “Microsol is exploring new avenues to remain at the leading-edge of its business. Undertaking highly strategic R&D will significantly enhance the technical expertise in the organisation and expand the company’s portfolio with a new product. Today’s announcements strongly position both Irish companies at the forefront of innovation within the Corporate Parent Group, Crompton Greaves.”

Mr. Dileep Patil, CEO of CG Power, said “These investments are central to our strategy to focus on higher value, speciality products in order to establish the company as a world-class provider of integrated solutions to its global customers in the power transmission and distribution market. The expansion in Cavan will enable us to capitalise on the growing energy business and to position our company as a leader in the wind energy market.”

“CG acquired Microsol to gain expertise in control and automation solutions to enable it to supply a “total substation solution” to electricity utility companies. In making these critical investment we needed to have confidence in the abilities of the chosen companies to deliver – we have that confidence in our Irish companies,” added Mr. Patil.

Wellman International Ltd.
Wellman International Ltd., which is Europe's largest producer of high quality polyester staple fibres (PSF) produced primarily from recycled material, has identified the personal care and personal hygiene sector as an area of strong growth, with end users seeking increasing product innovation. The investment is supported by Government through IDA Ireland.

Wellman International Ltd., established in Cavan in 1973, has a highly skilled workforce of 270 people. This R&D investment will focus on the development of new purpose-built fibres, with technically superior properties, for the personal care and personal hygiene industry using recycled material. It also involves development of a new extrusion process for manufacture of the new fibres, investigation of alternative sources of polyester waste as raw material and its associated carbon footprint.

The Tánaiste said “The Wellman Company in Ireland is a pioneer in the environmental industry. It has been recycling since the 1960’s and built its business on this industry decades before ‘recycling’ was in vogue and became a major business. Wellman is involved in using recycled material as a raw material and is regarded as a highly innovative company in this area, manufacturing such products as anti-bacterial and anti-dustmite materials for use in home furnishing. Wellman must also be acknowledged for the tremendous contribution it has made to the local economy over its 35 years in Cavan.”

“The company’s long history of growth and development to remain ahead of the competition and at the cutting edge is further demonstrated with this new R&D investment today. It is also very much in keeping with the Government and IDA’s strategy to establish Ireland as a leading location worldwide for ‘green’ and ‘clean technology’ business,” the Tánaiste concluded.

Frank Gleeson, Operations Director at Wellman International Ltd. in Cavan, said “The project is for the development of products specifically designed to raise the performance of structures in personal care and personal hygiene products. Although currently a major supplier to the hygiene sector, the work will re-enforce Wellman as a leader in the field of custom designed fibres, allowing for further diversification and positioning the company as the principal provider in the European market. The support of the project enhances the facilities available to the R&D team and further develops the capability of the Cavan operation to deliver innovative designs incorporating sustainable material.”

Pauwels and Microsol
Pauwels International NV
Pauwels Trafo in Cavan is a subsidiary of Pauwels International NV, headquartered in Belgium, and one of the world’s top ten manufacturers of three-phase transformers. It employs over 2,000 people in Belgium, Canada, USA, Indonesia and Ireland.

The investment at Pauwels Trafo in Cavan, in addition to the 70 new jobs spread across all areas of the operations, will extend its product range into higher value transformer products, develop the facility into an autonomous operation with control of its own product portfolio and strategy, expand the building and install new technology.

Microsol Ltd
Microsol, located at Pearse Street Enterprise Centre, acquired by Crompton Greaves in May 2007 Its business is global and is based on its leading edge technology. Crompton Greaves acquired Microsol to gain expertise in the provision of control and automation solutions for its entire organisation and to be in a position to supply a “total substation solution” to electricity utility companies for new electricity substation builds, rather than just equipment for substations. The project is in a specialised niche high-tech area, involving high value components and low volume manufacture and will require the considerable expert knowledge and technical skill of Microsol to complete.

The investment is in line with Government Research, Development and Innovative strategy as it is product development in a specialised niche high-tech area, requiring considerable expert knowledge and technical skill. This in line with the government’s aim of maintaining Ireland as a leading player in high tech developments, and boosting our knowledge based economy.

Crompton Greaves Ltd
Crompton Greaves has been a pioneering leader since 1937 in the management and application of electrical energy. It is one of India's largest private sector enterprises, extensively engaged in designing, manufacturing and marketing of high technology electrical products and services related to power generation, transmission and distribution. It is part of the of the Indian business conglomerate Avantha Group. Headquartered in Mumbai it has sales of €1,084 million and employs around 5,700 people at 22 production facilities across India.

Crompton Greaves became one of the top ten transformer manufacturers in the world following its May 2005 acquisition of Pauwels International. Further acquisitions followed - in October 2006 it acquired the Hungarian based Ganz (GTV) and its subsidiary Transverticum Kft (TV) with expertise in the manufacture of higher voltage power transformers, gas insulated switchgear, rotating machines and turnkey projects; in May 2007 it acquired the Irish company Microsol in Dublin, and in June 2008 it acquired the French company Societe Nouvelle de Maintenance de Transformateurs (Sonomatra).

Wellman International Ltd
Wellman International’s Cavan facility manufactures PSF using post consumer PET (thermoplastic) bottles collected and processed at its subsidiary recycling plants in France and the Netherlands. The recycled material is converted to PSF at the Cavan facility for a wide range of uses - filling for quilts and pillows, use in household carpets, car carpets, boot liners and door trim; waddings in furniture, cushions; technical and industrial uses (filters and abrasives); and in hygiene products, such as baby nappies (diapers).

The Cavan facility was formerly a subsidiary of Wellman Inc. of the US, a leading manufacturer of plastic packaging, fibres and engineering resins, it was sold in July 2007 to Aurelius AG, based in Munich, Germany.

Aurelius AG
Aurelius AG is an industrial holding group focused on the acquisition of mid-sized companies and corporate spin-offs. Its investment portfolio comprises of a variety of companies in the telecommunications, mail order, construction/automation, packaging and logistics businesses. Aurelius was established in 2005 and is traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It reported sales of €305 million, with net income of €48.2 million for 2007.

For further information please contact:
Pauwels Trafo Ireland Ltd. and Microsol Ltd. -
James McMahon – 049 43 31588 (ext 350 for Martina Kelly - acting P.A)

Wellman -
Frank Gleeson, Operations Director, at Wellman’s Cavan facility Tel: 087 2252918

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment -
Press Office, Tel: 01- 6312200 - Roisin McCann, Mob: 0872594144

IDA Ireland -
National Media : Brendan Kenny, Press & PR Officer, Tel: 087 9036126
Regional Media : Pat Doherty, Manager, North-East Region Tel: 087 6171336