Minister Richard Bruton with Con Snr, Mike and Robert Stack, at Tricel, Killarney (L-R: Robert Stack, Con  (Snr.) Stack, Minister Richard Bruton and Mike Stack)

Manufacturing and engineering group Tricel is to create 100 new jobs over the next 18 months. 40 of these jobs will be based in the company’s headquarters in Killarney and be worth an extra €2.4m to the local economy.

The new jobs, including graduate positions, will bolster the existing workforce of 250 based in Ireland, UK and France over the next 18 months and will strengthen operations in management, engineering, R&D, product development, marketing and manufacturing.

Tricel is a European leader in the development and manufacture of advanced and specialised composite products from water storage tanks and wastewater treatment systems to construction and building products as well as specialist moulding and filler products for the manufacturing and automotive industries.

Tricel, originally known as Killarney Plastics, was founded in Killarney in 1973.

The Group consists of seven trading companies across Ireland, UK and France with the main manufacturing hub and group headquarters based in Killarney. The Group established its first base in the UK in 1993 and in France in 2011.

"Our main success and expansion was actually fuelled by the recession in Ireland which had a detrimental effect on our Irish market which forced us to increase focus on our existing UK market and also on further export markets,” said Tricel Managing Director Mike Stack.

“We bucked the trend and backed ourselves by making a multimillion euro investment in R&D and plant and machinery within this period.

“Amongst our biggest business achievements during this time was the fact in 2007 we exported 5pc of our turnover and were highly dependent on the Irish construction market. By 2013 our exports had increased to 70pc of our turnover. This investment has led to continuous process and design improvements which have ensured our current and future success.”

The current expansion project is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland.