MANUFACTURING
CJ SHEERAN, Shannon Street, Mountrath, Co Laois.
Tel: 057 8756700. www.timberfencinggates.ie
Growing
by the grain
Aformersawmillinthemidlandsis
nowhometoacompanythathas
evolvedfrompalletmakingtousing
woodandwoodwasteinevery
conceivableway
‘We sought collection licences
from the various local
authorities and now can
collect wood-packaging waste
from any county in Ireland’
Also shortlisted in
the Environmental
Sustainability category
Mark Sheeran
O
NE of the strengths of Laois-based timber meant we started to grow and needed a bigger plant.” “We deliver products, for example, decking or gates, out
manufacturer and recycling company CJ CJ Sheeran’s first unit was 2,000 sq ft in Cooleraine. It to retail and wholesale clients and bring back wood waste
Sheeran since its origins over 16 years ago establisheda6,000sqftoneacrosstheroad,andinthelate Attheplant,weturnthiswasteintosomethingelse:second-
has been to find untapped niches in the Nineties another 18,000 sq ft unit. handpallets,forwhichthere’sahugedemand;andtherest
marketplace. In2,000,Sheeranspottedanopportunitytobuyasawmill goesintotheshreddertomakevariousthingssuchaschip-
ManagingdirectorMarkSheerancamebacktoIrelandin in Mountrath, which ended up bringing the firm on a new board or animal bedding.”
1992 after working in computer recruitment during the and innovative path. Taking this process a step further, Sheeran bought a
heightoftheUKrecession.Hestartedworkingwithhisfather “Wewantedthesawmillasithadakilnonthesitewhich Rotochopper,whichcouldcolourtheshreddedmaterialand
who was a sole trader in the timber business, making keg wecouldusetotreatthewood,afunctionwepreviouslyhad make it into non-toxic mulch for landscaping. “We sell this
pallets for Guinness. tooutsource.Afterthisacquisition,wehad60,000sqftunder asanalternativetobarkmulchtowholesalers.Itretainsmois-
“Whenweweren’tmakingthepallets,Imadesalescalls coveraltogether,”hesays.The5.5-acreMountrathsite ture better and lasts three times longer.”
tomanufacturingcompaniestopickupotherorders.Iwent becamethemanufacturingplant,whilethefirmconverted Celebrity gardener Dermot O’Neill used the mulch for a
forspecialisedwork—non-standardtimberpackagingand the other units into storage facilities. place he bought in the mountains and liked it so much he
pallets — and hit a niche by accident. Refrigeration com- Mountrath has an integrated pollution-prevention con- agreed to endorse it in a marketing campaign.
panieswerelookingforthisserviceand,between1993-94, trol licence from the Environmental Protection Agency, CJSheeran’skilnfordryingtimberusedtobefiredbyoil,
numerous technology companies came along looking for which initially meant a lot of compliance in terms of treat- butithassinceinstalledabiomassboiler,whichusesitsown
specialisedtimberpackaging,”hesays.Thus,CJSheeranwas ing timber, but turned out to be a blessing in disguise, wood waste. “We’ve reduced our consumption of green
born in 1995. according to Sheeran. diesel by 95pc. It works a treat for us, as we also now also
One of the most important lessons Sheeran learned “AcustomerinDublinaskeduscouldweremovehiswood- sell the biomass material,” says Sheeran.
earlyonwasnottodependononeclient.Guinnessputthe packagingwaste.Wehadthelicenceforthesite,whichwas Withanannualturnoverofaround¤7m,CJSheeranhas
palletcontractouttotenderandthefirmdidn’tgetit.“The astart,sowesoughtcollectionlicencesfromthevariouslocal never made a loss and has grown every year, according to
shockoflosingthatbigordermademediversifywithinan authorities and now can collect wood-packaging waste itsmanagingdirector.Itemploys48peoplealtogetherinan
industry I knew well,” he says. from any county in Ireland.” area that continues to be fairly labour intensive, although
From specialised timber packaging, CJ Sheeran pro- Not long after finding that first client, CJ Sheeran there is a lot of automation involved.
gressed onto joinery and manufacturing timber gates and trucks were collecting 57 loads of wood waste in a “We were lucky to start out during the Celtic tiger. 2009
fences, benefiting from the Rural Environment Protection month. Sheeran says he bought a shredder with a big will be a year of consolidation for us. We’re looking at set-
Scheme. “There was a move towards replacing steel gates capacity and soon the firm was in the business of wood tingupbasesinLimerickandDublinandplantoserviceour
and fences with wooden ones, and entering this business waste recycling. clientsasbestwecan,”heexplains.
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