A Dundalk-based company has signed a lease on a 17-acre site in Limerick where it plans to develop a new biofuels manufacturing facility, creating 142 jobs.
Smokeless fuel company CPL Fuels, whose headquarters are at 1 Jocelyn Place in Dundalk, has acquired the former Koala site in Foynes, Co Limerick and is finalising a planning application for its redevelopment.
Managing director Niall McGuinness told The Irish Independent that they hoped to begin work on the site by the end of the year, with manufacturing expected to begin by 2015.
“We are working with Limerick County Council at the moment and we would expect to have our planning in by late March or early April,” Mr McGuinness said.
The company intends to redevelop the existing facilities on the site, with some additions and extensions.
According to Mr McGuinness, the company initially plans to manufacture smokeless fuels in the plant with the raw materials being shipped into Foynes Port.
The second phase of its plan involves manufacturing biofuels using biomass as the raw material. This can include energy crops such as Miscanthus (or Elephant Grass), trees and other biodegradable materials.
“We would be hopeful that we would be manufacturing on site by the end of 2015,” Mr McGuinness said.
