Manufacturing jobs boost for Kilrush

A manufacturing company, due to commence operations in the industrial estate on the Cooraclare Road in Kilrush, aims to create at least 12 jobs. Glynn Technical Diamonds Ltd plan to carry out the majority of their manufacturing processes on-site in Kilrush.

The company, which is to be up-and-running in West Clare within a month, will employ two engineers immediately, along with up to five production workers, two people in sales and marketing, two technicians and a researcher in the coming months.
The product to be manufactured is a drilling tool that uses polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) cutters to shear rock with a continuous scraping motion. It is used in the offshore oil and gas industry.
The company has received €35,000 in funding support from Enterprise Ireland to help with the purchase of a Wire EDM machine that cost €80,000. This purchase will allow the company to competitively process PDC rather than outsourcing.
“The use of PDC in oil and gas drillbits has seen enormous growth over the last 10 years due to global expansion of drilling requirements but also due to the replacement of traditional roller cone drillbits with PDC bits,” company spokesperson Charlie Glynn explained.
“PDC is now a $600m per year industry and has replaced 75% of the roller cone drillbits. However it is expected that ultimately it will replace 95% of the roller cone drillbits,” Charlie Glynn added.
Speaking at last weeks Kilrush Town Council monthly meeting, Councillor Ian Lynch said that it was imperative that Kilrush Town Council set their commercial rates at an appropriate level if businesses are to view Kilrush as a feasible town in which to set up.
“There has been a number of obstacles in securing a premises and appropriate infrastructure but through the assistance of Claire Fitzgerald of Shannon Development a premises has been secured that will meet the companies needs. However the company now faces a rate cost for the full commercial unit, despite only requiring a portion of the existing unit,” Councillor Lynch stated.
“We need to put our heads together and come up with some incentive that will make life easy for new business to establish in our town. Opportunities like this cannot be missed and we must ensure that this council has done all it can to make Kilrush an attractive place for people to do business.
“This job announcement may not be the equivalent of the arrival of INTEL to our town but these jobs are much needed and we must make the most of such possibilities to ensure the town’s survival and stem the flow of emigration,” the Kilrush town councillor warned.