Plastics & Rubber World - May/June 2019 - 16

ireland

Photo: Ed Fitzgerald

›› Continued from page 15

Lough Hyne, near skibbereen, ireland. Opposition to new RtP plant centres on
the picturesque location
While preliminary permissions have
been granted for the RTP plant, which will
be located in Skibbereen, County Cork,
the opposition group trying to stop construction have lodged an appeal against
the decision made by An Bord Planelta,
the Irish building commission. Whether
the plant is allowed to go ahead will depend on the outcome of that appeal.
JL Goor is a long-time partner of RTP
and, together with other material exports
from North America, the company will
look to distribute those products across
Ireland and through a new company ad-

CorriPipe extrusion at JFC Group

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dition, JL Goor Materials UK, which will be
based in Wolverhampton.
"ExxonMobil Canada is a world leader
in producing rotational moulding PE for oil
tanks, so we'll now look to market those
in both countries," says Clarke. "This is the
first time they will be exporting outside
the US and Canada and we've got distribution rights. We're very excited about
opportunities in the UK, but we're going to
take our time, see where it leads us."

UK investment

At Trend Technologies and JL Goor Materials, there are mixed views when it comes
to the implications of Brexit. With the final
outcome yet to be determined, there is
the potential for success and for failure.
"We think there's a lot of opportunity - and threats, perhaps even risk - related to Brexit," says Jonathan Kiernan.
"But once it does settle, you'll see investment get pushed out and the pace will
pick up."
More concerning for Trend Technologies is the uncertainty created by the
political wrangling and how it is affecting
customers; particularly automotive customers. "We've watched automotive go
up and down for a number of years, it's
naturally a cyclical business," he says. "But
more than Brexit, electric vehicles (EVs)
have changed how OEMs operate. Models have changed, while some have disappeared."
Kiernan points out that a number of recent business enquiries have been related to battery systems, or how sensors, key
to EV functionality, can be built into plastic
components. But while UK automotive
assemblers are negotiating a Brexit headwind, the company is banking on price
and reputation to see it through.
"We can offer competitive cost and our
customers are confident in our quality,"

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Plastics & Rubber World - May/June 2019

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